Tweet

7.0 Conclusions: Gender Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness in Africa 2007

Guest post by: World Economic Forum

Article Overview: This chapter shows that both men and women are active as entrepreneurs in Africa, and their enterprises share many common characteristics.

7.0 Conclusions: Gender Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness in Africa 2007

This chapter shows that both men and women are
active as entrepreneurs in Africa, and their enterprises
share many common characteristics. For the select sample
of manufacturing and service sector entrepreneurs
captured in the Enterprise Surveys, the analysis reveals
surprisingly little difference between men and women
entrepreneurs.

There are some differences in the type of
businesses in which men and women are engaged, and
some differences in perceived constraints. However,
these differences are often quite small and are not consistently
associated with specific countries, sectors, or
types of business.

Because this chapter finds such small differences
between men and women entrepreneurs along the
dimensions analyzed here, it may be tempting to
conclude that there is little to be gained from addressing
entrepreneurship in Africa through a gender lens.

This
would be a mistake, as even the absence of differences—
for example, with respect to firm performance—is an
important and positive finding.This analysis brings to
light several important findings that are relevant for
strengthening Africa’s competitiveness and entrepreneurship:

• Women entrepreneurs are more likely than their
male counterparts to be engaged in family enterprises.
They are also generally younger and less
likely to be married.

In recent years, it seems to
have become easier for women to enter into entrepreneurship.
This suggests that family dynamics play
an important role in entrepreneurship in Africa, and
that these dynamics are particularly relevant for
women entrepreneurs.

The confluence of family
and business activity, or, as mentioned earlier, the
blurring of the boundary between household and
economic activity, suggests that the legal status and
rights of women within the family—especially in
relation to marriage, inheritance, and property
rights—have a bearing on their capacity to engage
in entrepreneurial activity.

• Contrary to what one might expect, in the sample
analyzed here women are as likely to own large
businesses as small ones, and there is no genderdistinct
segmentation of women entrepreneurs in
terms of the sector of operation or the size and age
of the business.

• Women’s businesses are at least as productive as
those of their male counterparts, as measured by
value-added per worker and TFP.Once men and
women entrepreneurs are operating their businesses,
the constraints and obstacles they face affect them
in largely the same way. Differences based on gender
tend to disappear, as shown both in this chapter and
in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor surveys in
40 countries.This is further confirmed in the finding
that in countries where it is easier overall to
start, register, license, and operate a business, there
are more women entrepreneurs.

• The absence of significant gender-based barriers in
operating a business does not mean that there are
no gender-based obstacles to entrepreneurship. It is
very likely that barriers to entry into entrepreneurship
present greater obstacles for women than for
men.

• Consequently, measures aimed at facilitating entry
into entrepreneurship through legal, regulatory, and
other reforms are likely to have a more positive
impact on women entrepreneurs. As shown in the
GGA program, priority needs to be given to tackling
gender-based legal and regulatory obstacles to
starting a business as a specific component of the
wider effort to improve the business-enabling
environment.

This analysis suggests that complex family dynamics
are at work in relation to business activity in ways that
are particularly important for women.This raises questions
that merit further analysis, such as what decisionmaking
power women have, and whether the presence
of a male relative in the enterprise either dilutes or
facilitates (for example, by mediating access to credit)
the discharge of their managerial responsibility.

A further
question concerns the ways in which women manage
their “double workday,” including through preferring
informal arrangements that are more compatible with
their domestic responsibilities.The wider realms of family
relations, and of property, marital, and inheritance
rights, all have a bearing on the potential and prospects
facing women entrepreneurs that are not the same as for
men.Though data are very limited, available evidence
suggests that there is persistent discrimination against
women and greater precariousness of their legal status
and rights.

An important arena for further work is to address
women’s disadvantage by analyzing other types of
data—for example, household surveys, or surveys of
informal sector activities. Also, more could be done
using Enterprise Surveys if they included more information
about observable characteristics of the entrepreneur
that are not currently collected—for example, family
background (what do parents and spouses do?), the way
the firm was acquired, and the role played by men and
women in managing the firm. Since sex-disaggregated
data on property ownership, assets, and legal rights are
lacking, one critical task is to develop statistical and
data-gathering capacity in this area.

The finding that there are no or few significant differences
between female and male entrepreneurs once
they are already operating businesses—in terms of the
sectors of operation, the size or age of the business, and
the performance and productivity of the business—is
encouraging. It suggests, for example, that Africa does
indeed have considerable hidden growth potential in its
women, and that tapping that potential, including
through removal of barriers that exist at entry, and
reducing disparities in access to and control of resources
by empowering women economically, can make a substantial
difference for Africa’s growth and poverty reduction.

If Africa is to remain competitive, and is to tap the
full productive potential of all economic actors—male
and female—it is important to understand and tackle
gender-based barriers to entrepreneurship. Once
Enterprise Surveys obtain more information on the
background of male and female entrepreneurs, including
through larger samples of female entrepreneurs, it will
be possible to undertake more robust analysis of the
gender dynamics of entrepreneurship in Africa.

Related Articles
  1.0 Overview: Gender Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness in Africa, 2007
  18.0 Conclusion: Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in Africa
  2.0 Gender in African economies: Gender Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness in Africa, 2007
  References: What Drives China’s Growing Role in Africa?
  6.0 The broader context: Gender Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness in Africa, 2007

Article Tags: Africa, business activity, business activity, difference between men and women, differences between men and women, entrepreneurship, family enterprises, men and women, men and women, women entrepreneurs



Related Forum Posts
Re: need advice - Africa is a pretty big place I think it is a question of where in Africa you would like to open a call centre. South Africa for example actually has plenty of call centres already operating, so it would very much depend on what part of Africa you are considering. MichelleJ
Re: Newbie from Africa - Hello Biiyke Welcome to the forum. Which part of Africa are you from it is quite a big continent? I live in South Africa. MichelleJ
Ladies Who Launch book party - I'm only abouat 6 hours from DC... but I'm not going to be able to make the signing... I wish 'em well, however. Anyway, I check their website periodically to see what's happening, and here's the press release for it: We've written about you in our book and now are thrilled to meet you in person! Our book LADIES WHO LAUNCH: Embracing Entrepreneurship & Creativity as a Lifestyle (St. Martin's Press; May 1, 2007; $24.95) has come out and we are coming to Washington, DC to celebrate you, women who want to say "YES!" to their dreams by launching a business, project or life! We'll be at Barnes & Noble, 555 12th St. NW, Washington DC, on Wednesday, May 9, 2007 and we would be honored if you would come out and meet us and the extraordinary ladies of the Washington, DC Ladies Who Launch Incubator program. We have invited several special guests including: Priscilla Stephan: Founder of Bakana Style Kalle Diarra: Founder of Arbre De Vie Products These ladies will talk more about how to launch, and, why launching, whether for entrepreneurial reasons or just for fun, leads to a happier, more fulfilling life. Being around like-minded, inspiring women is one of the best ways to get you moving toward your goals and dreams.
Adventure travel to Africa. - Africa is a place where adventure is taking place. If you are a travel who loves adventure, nature, culture you should visit Africa. Safari Village operator is a .leading tour operator in Kenya who are offering marvelous tour packages to Africa. Saffari Villages Online is a trusted name for africa travel.
Re: Newbie from Africa - [quote="Evan":22gvtxlq]Welcome to the forums Biiyke! You asked if we know any sellers who were trying to reach the African market... I think you'd honestly have more luck going the other way - try to find sellers in Africa and sell to the rest of the world.[/quote:22gvtxlq] Hello Evan, You are absolutely correct.Thank you for your advice.That's actually the whole idea,Africa to the world and the world to Africa. So I will throw more weight on that area.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Halloween Howl Seven by Author Paige Agnew

Living on The Edge of Chaos...

Severance and Separation Agreements

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.