Experts have stressed the importance of Intellectual Property in building competitive, sustainable, and investor-ready businesses, especially for women entrepreneurs across Africa.
According to a statement, stakeholders emphasised the benefits of Intellectual Property while speaking at the 2025 World Intellectual Property Webinar, organised by non-profit organisation, ImpactHER, in partnership with the African Union.
The event attracted over 260 female entrepreneurs from 29 African countries and three non-African countries.
Senior Partner, Jackson, Etti & Edu, Uwa Ohiku, in her keynote address, said intellectual property plays a vital role in business success by helping brands gain competitive advantage, access funding, attract strategic partners, minimise legal risks and build customer trust.
“Intellectual Property can help set businesses apart by giving them a distinct brand identity and value. It can also make the business more appealing to investors, acquirers and collaborators with its protected brand value,” she said.
According to her, registered IP is often seen by investors and lenders as a sign of credibility and can serve as a market entry strategy when a business is seeking expansion.
“Protecting IP puts a business under pressure to deliver on its promises and to continuously improve on its goods and services. Through such quality, businesses earn their customers’ trust and continued patronage,” she added.
Speaking during a panel session on Common IP Pitfalls for Female Entrepreneurs, experts advised women-led businesses to protect their intellectual property through non-disclosure agreements, early registration, and proper budgeting.
IP specialist Jenner Akwale urged entrepreneurs to conduct regular audits of their IP, establish internal IP policies, avoid unauthorised use of copyrighted content, and scrutinise all contracts.
“There are some investors who would want to hide IP clauses in their contracts; female entrepreneurs need to be very careful about this,” he warned.
Legal executive Susan Musyoka advised participants to integrate intellectual property into their business strategy to foster innovation and growth.
Head of Legal, EbonyLife Studios, Omotayo Onakoju, warned entrepreneurs against using free online materials for marketing, noting that such actions constitute copyright infringement.
“Copyrighted works have two rights: moral and economic. These two go hand in hand and cannot be separated. To use any copyrighted work, they must be given due credit and must also be paid for it,” she said.
