By African View
Long before Wall Street, Bloomberg, or billionaire hashtags, African women were running the economy with baskets of gold, textiles, and salt — all balanced on their heads and backed by centuries of skill, strategy, and power.
These were the Market Queens: the fierce, entrepreneurial women whose voices echoed through the marketplaces of ancient Ghana, Mali, Yoruba lands, Ethiopia, and beyond.
In the Yoruba kingdoms, women held major control over markets. The Iyaloja, or “Mother of the Market,” wasn’t just a vendor, she was the CEO of commerce. Her word carried weight, her approval opened doors, and her wisdom shaped community trade.
As historian Nkiru Nzegwu writes:
"Women were the engines of market life — not just participants, but organizers, regulators, and protectors of economic balance."
Se was not alone in leading the African market. The Women of Ghana and Mali were also Movers of Gold and Grain.
During the reign of ancient Ghana and Mali, women weren’t restricted to the household many became gold traders, cloth merchants, and salt barons.
Travelers like Ibn Battuta, the 14th-century Moroccan explorer, wrote with awe about how women in Mali moved freely in society and participated in commerce with power and confidence.
"They show greater respect for women than do any other people," he wrote.
In a time when much of the world locked women out of public life, African civilizations placed them at the economic center.
In Axum and later Ethiopian kingdoms, women traded in spices, ivory, and silk, often across long caravan routes. Oral stories from Harar and Gondar recall mothers and matriarchs bartering with Arabs, Persians, and fellow Africans, not just to survive, but to build dynasties.
Even today, echoes of their voices remain in the folk songs of market towns, sung with pride:
“She buys with wisdom, she sells with fairness, the market is her kingdom.”
The legacy of these women isn’t just historical, it’s alive in today’s African markets. It is worth noting: the Makola women in Ghana, the Owino traders in Uganda, and the Merkato matriarchs of Ethiopia
They descend from a proud lineage, women who built wealth, held political sway, and proved that economic power isn’t about gender — it’s about grit, genius, and connection.
“If you want to know the heartbeat of a nation, listen to the market women.” African proverb
So next time you hear the vibrant hum of a marketplace or pass a vendor juggling sales and small talk, remember: she walks in the footsteps of queens, economists, and revolutionaries. Her story deserves to be told.
Tell us about women market heroines in your neck of the woods
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