The month of March is dedicated to the celebration of women: to highlight their achievements and contributions to history and the contemporary world. International women’s day was celebrated on March 8th. Organizations and nations worldwide celebrated different activities by selecting a theme or topic they want to address. The theme for this year, 2021, is ‘Choose to challenge.’ This theme addresses challenges women face that prevent them from achieving their full potential. This year’s theme action word is CHOOSE. It begs us to do something. We can choose to acknowledge the challenges and/or choose to take action against the challenges women face. Either way, we are encouraged to take a stand.
Female entrepreneurs face many challenges that keep them from sustaining and growing their businesses. We must choose to challenge the legal, social, and regulatory barriers that discriminate against women’s full and free economic participation and empowerment. By choosing to challenge the barriers, we commit to removing or limiting the obstacles women business owners face as we move towards Sustainable Development Goal #5 – Gender Equality. And according to the United Nations, gender equality is a human right, and it is good for the economy.
Here are some issues faced by women entrepreneurs that we should make a determined effort to challenge.
Lack of funding
Female entrepreneurs face a lack of funding compared to their male counterparts. Limited access to finance affects women’s business growth and prevents them from achieving success. A report by the African Development Bank (AFDB) finds that the financing gap for women entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa is estimated at over US $20 billion. In Africa, women comprise almost 60% of the self-employed workforce, and COVID-19 exacerbated the disparities faced by women-led enterprises.
Obstacles women entrepreneurs face when accessing finance include low financial literacy, risk aversion, high collateral requirement, and fear of failure. By choosing to challenge these obstacles, we can help female-led ventures survive the effects of COVID-19 and contribute to their local economies.
Social Barriers
There are many social issues affecting women entrepreneurs that need to be challenged. These issues hinder women from accessing finance or even going into entrepreneurship. Social barriers like limiting women from inheriting land or properties, not attending school, child marriages, or any other act that treats women as second-class citizens who can only survive with a man’s assistance, prevent women from going into entrepreneurship or any other field of their choice. These are limiting on the part of women and girls as they hinder the abilities women have.
Societal limitations created by culture or traditions can inconspicuously inhibit women because these biases affect how women entrepreneurs are perceived in the marketplace. For example, the idea that “women belong at home” discourages women from having ambitious goals. Now a woman staying at home is not bad if that is her choice, but sometimes societal pressures make women feel like they don’t have a say in what they want to be. As the saying goes, “a woman should be anything SHE wants to be.” To limit all women to the “stay in the kitchen” norm is depreciating and unempowering. These and many other societal constraints can negatively impact women entrepreneurs.
We should choose to challenge social practices that limit women entrepreneurs from reaching their full potential. Whether they be cultural practices or even restrictions to healthcare access, they all work to prevent women from reaching their potentials.
Choose to challenge biases as we encounter them. Challenge them as they form in your mind. Stand against negative stereotypes even when you think you or someone else is being funny or playful. When faced with biases or actions that limit women entrepreneurs, take a stand against them. Every little bit counts. Let us eliminate social barriers related to women owning or inheriting properties, lands, businesses, and owning and managing their own bank accounts.
Lack of Training and Educational Programs
Mentoring and training programs are important for equipping women entrepreneurs with the necessary skills to manage their enterprises from the start because women in Africa often have lower levels of formal education.
Training will help women entrepreneurs plan an organized business venture successfully. Operational support that helps women learn the tools they need to grow their business is important and will develop female entrepreneurs’ business skills and confidence. Training helps female enterprises set and achieve business goals that empower them to create a better future for themselves, their families, and communities.
To challenge this obstacle, create opportunities for women entrepreneurs to receive training and mentoring. We must also understand and show consideration when women entrepreneurs lack technical business knowledge. Instead of judging, either educate them or point them where they can receive the knowledge they need. According to the Cherie Blair Foundation, training support levels the playing field for women entrepreneurs who are disadvantaged in business.
Business Enabling Environment
A conducive business environment for women entrepreneurship is vital to women-led businesses’ success because it would enable their enterprises to operate successfully. Governments should make a concerted effort to ensure that business policies and laws are not limiting women-owned enterprises. The recent African Continental Free Trade Agreement, if implemented effectively, is a great tool to help create such an environment for entrepreneurs to expand their businesses across Africa and continue growing.
Social norms and business culture can greatly influence a business-enabling environment. The unwritten rules of society affect how participants behave within a business environment, which could inhibit women entrepreneurs. Choose to challenge business cultures that adversely affect women-led businesses. Whether it’s reducing the amount of paperwork or time spent in line at a government office or the amount of money required to comply with regulations or laws, every bit helps.
Approximately 60 percent of urban businesses in Africa remain outside the formal sector, limiting growth. Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest number of women entrepreneurs, so most of those urban businesses are women-owned. A business-enabling environment can set up all entrepreneurs to succeed, but most especially women entrepreneurs who face obstacles that limit their growth.
Women are a force for economic growth and development. Support women entrepreneurs so that they can achieve growth. Closing women’s entrepreneurship gaps require actively challenging those obstacles slowing down the development of women-owned businesses. Although the official celebration of women and women’s history happens in March, empower women, and address all the challenges they face all year round. We choose to challenge, do you?
