About
Empowering Nigerian Market Women for Digital Identity, Trade, Support & Prosperity.
A statewide movement of the women who keep Cross River’s markets alive.
Every morning, before the city is fully awake, women across Cross River State open their stalls. They sell the tomatoes, fish, cloth and garri that feed families in Calabar, Ikom, Ogoja and Obudu. They keep the state’s markets alive, and many carry whole households on their trade.
The Cross River State Market Women Forum brings these women together. Founded by Her Excellency, Bishop Eyoanwan Otu, it is a statewide body with a chapter in each of the 18 local government areas, giving market women one identity, one voice and a clear route to the support they have long gone without.
The Forum began with a single celebration. On International Women’s Day in 2024, market women were invited to be honoured for the work they do. The conversation that day turned to the gap between how hard these women work and how little of the state’s support reaches them, and it did not end when the day did.
On 12 June 2026, women from every local government area marched into U. J. Esuene Stadium in Calabar for the Forum’s launch. More than 5,600 of them received grants to grow their trade, and the State Government pledged ₦30 million to the Forum’s work.
Today every member carries a verified digital identity, belongs to a chapter ecosystem close to her market, and can reach training, grants, loans and advice from one place. Chapter by chapter, the Forum speaks for its members on the things that shape their day: safe markets, fair levies, clean water, good roads, and help when fire or flood takes their goods.
The Forum belongs to its members. It grows each time a woman registers, joins her chapter and brings another trader with her.
Why the Forum?
Our impact at a glance
Leadership
Founder
Her Excellency, Bishop Eyoanwan Otu
First Lady of Cross River State
