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4.1.1 Constraints faced by women in the MSE sector: Support for Growth-oriented Women Entrepreneurs in Tanzania, 2005

Written by: International Labour Organization

Article Overview: Women in the MSE sector face a number of serious obstacles.

4.1.1 Constraints faced by women in the MSE sector: Support for Growth-oriented Women Entrepreneurs in Tanzania, 2005

Women in the MSE sector face a number of serious obstacles. Among these are:
gender-blind or gender-insensitive macroeconomic policies; complex tax policies and
compliance procedures; gender-based inequalities in employment policies and
regulations; complex business registration and licensing procedures for the smallest
micro-enterprises (where the majority of women are found); lack of cultural acceptance
for the role of entrepreneurship for women; limited access to appropriate business
premises; limited access to BDS; lack of collateral due to property ownership practices;
lack of access to term loans and sufficient working capital to meet their needs (the gap
between the micro-finance ceiling and the minimum loan requirements of banks); and the
limited organizational and management capacity among women’s advocacy groups
(UDEC, 2002). In addition, women face a number of gender-related problems: a lack of
property rights over assets; lack of confidence in women by bank officers;
discouragement from men when starting or formalizing businesses; social restrictions
regarding networking with men in business; and suppliers sometimes insisting that they
deal with the entrepreneur’s husband when decisions are being made (ILO, 2003).

The UDEC (2002) report divided women entrepreneurs into three groups,
depending on the structure and size of their enterprises, and noted that each of these
groups faces a slightly different set of constraints (see Figure 2). Consequently, each
segment would require different kinds of assistance and special interventions to address
their unique constraints.

This pyramidal structure is similar to the ones constructed for the Ethiopia and
Kenya country chapters. The vast majority of women in Tanzania operate in the informal
economy, employing only themselves; a smaller number operate as formal microenterprises,
and a very small number operate as small enterprises. What is clear is that
the larger the size of the enterprise, the fewer the women in it.

Related Articles
  1.2 Mission Objectives: Support for Growth-oriented Women Entrepreneurs in Tanzania, 2005
  8.0 Promotion of women’s entrepreneurship: Support for Growth-oriented Women Entrepreneurs in Tanzania, 2005
  4.0 The state of women’s enterprises in Tanzania: Support for Growth-oriented Women Entrepreneurs in Tanzania, 2005
  1.0 Overview: Gender Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness in Africa, 2007
  6.1 The informal sector: Gender Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness in Africa 2007

Article Tags: business registration, gender blind, micro enterprises, UDEC, women entrepreneurs



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