Whip Music, a music-tech company founded by Melissa Kariuki – recently recognised among the GRAMMYs’ 13 Women Shaping African Music (2025) – has been selected to join the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) flagship initiative, eTrade for Women.
The appointment places Whip Music among 353 women-led digital enterprises from 69 countries championing inclusive digital trade and sustainable growth. The company’s inclusion underscores Africa’s growing global influence in the creative and digital economy and marks a major milestone for women-founded tech ventures shaping Africa’s role in global trade.
eTrade for Women, supported by the governments of Australia, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland, aims to strengthen the role of women digital entrepreneurs as influential voices in public-policy dialogues at the local, regional and global levels.
“There are so many women running digital trade businesses across Africa; many without even realising that what they do every day is part of global trade,” said Melissa Kariuki, Founder & CEO of Whip Music. “Yet, too often, women are left out of the policy conversations that define how that trade works. For us, joining this network isn’t just an honour, it’s a responsibility. With the backing of the United Nations, Whip Music will actively amplify its voice in policymaking spaces to ensure women and creatives are included in shaping a more equitable digital economy.”
This milestone follows Whip Music’s representation at the World Trade Organization’s Public Forum in Geneva, Switzerland last month, where Kariuki discussed the creative economy’s role in global trade and the policy frameworks needed to unlock its growth. The company’s inclusion in UNCTAD’s eTrade for Women Community reflects a continuation of that advocacy journey: championing better digital policies, trade frameworks and infrastructure that enable Africa’s creative industries to thrive. Its selection reflects growing global recognition of Africa’s innovators shaping the intersection of creativity, technology and trade.
Through its appointment, Whip Music joins an influential circle of women-founded technology businesses driving innovation and inclusive growth by leveraging digital tools to solve local and global challenges.
Whip Music’s mission is to enable African creators to succeed globally, not only by providing AI-driven marketing solutions but by advocating for the digital policies that make sustainable success possible. Africa’s creative economy is valued at US$58.4 billion, contributing about 4% of the continent’s GDP, yet it represents less than 0.3% of global creative exports.
With the right digital policies and trade frameworks, analysts project that African creative exports could reach US$200 billion by 2030, potentially accounting for 10% of global creative goods trade. Whip Music’s membership in eTrade for Women underscores the growing recognition of Africa’s creative industries, not merely as cultural assets but as strategic drivers of global trade.
“For too long, creativity has been seen purely as culture,” Kariuki added. “It’s one of Africa’s highest-potential commodities. With the right digital infrastructure and trade frameworks, African creators can reach global markets, scale new industries and shape the future of digital trade.”
Since its founding, Whip Music has supported artists in promoting their music across the US, the UK, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Ghana, and Canada, enabling them to export their music, access new markets and grow global audiences. Its data-driven approach empowers creators to move beyond traditional marketing, enabling measurable results and greater control over their creative IP.
The company’s growth reflects a broader African movement: the rise of women-led, tech-enabled creative enterprises redefining how global audiences experience African culture.
Whip Music’s inclusion in UNCTAD’s eTrade for Women Community represents a continuation of this mission, ensuring Africa’s creative entrepreneurs have a seat at the table in shaping the policies that will determine the future of digital trade.
About eTrade for Women and UNCTAD
eTrade for Women is a global initiative launched by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 2019 to empower women digital entrepreneurs in developing and emerging economies. Through mentorship, policy engagement and community building, the initiative supports women founders as they scale their businesses and shape inclusive digital ecosystems.
By connecting digital entrepreneurship with trade policy, eTrade for Women works to reduce gender inequality and accelerate women’s representation in the digital economy. The programme is part of UNCTAD’s broader mandate to integrate developing countries into the global economy through trade, investment and sustainable development.
Headquartered in Geneva, UNCTAD operates under the United Nations General Assembly and serves as the UN’s focal point for trade and development issues, particularly those affecting developing nations.
Melissa Kariuki is featured on the official UNCTAD eTrade for Women member directory, which recognises women entrepreneurs from developing countries driving inclusive digital growth.
About Whip Music
Whip Music is a music-tech company headquartered in Johannesburg, on a mission to help artists unlock their next one billion fans. The platform leverages technology to provide access to social media marketing, music and video distribution, editorial playlisting, TV placements, radio, press, influencer marketing and digital advertising. Whether an artist has zero fans or one million, Whip Music empowers them to grow and monetise their fanbase globally.
For more information, visit whipservices.com or contact [email protected].
About Melissa Kariuki
Melissa Kariuki is the Founder and CEO of Whip Music and a Recording Academy member, recognised among the GRAMMYs’ 13 Women Shaping African Music (2025) and Hotlist Africa’s Top 30 Executives in the African Music Industry (2025).
Her career includes product roles at Google and Meta, as well as experience across Asia, Europe, the United States and Africa with organisations including Bain & Company, H&M, the Gates Foundation and INSEAD. She holds a First-Class Honours degree from the African Leadership University in Mauritius and a Master of Management Science in Global Affairs as a Patrice Motsepe Fellow and Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University in Beijing, where she graduated with a 99% distinction for her thesis on blockchain, NFTs and Web3 regulation.
