Since recent statistics disaggregated by sex are not available, it is not possible to estimate how many women among informal economy enterprises and SMEs are operating growth firms, or how many of them have medium-sized enterprises.
However, the growth rate of women-owned MSEs appears to be very low – indeed much lower than that of male-owned enterprises (UDEC, 2002). This further reinforces the stereotype that that women are only able to function at the micro-enterprise level. The Preliminary Report on Women in Tanzania (UDEC, 2002) stated:
Most women are said to have little or no interest in or commitment to business activities and the entrepreneurial career. They are also said to have limited motivation for developing their activities to more sustainable and profitable levels. It has been noted that women prefer to develop several micro-enterprises, rather than develop existing businesses into small and medium sized enterprises.
Several entrepreneurs interviewed during the field visit fit this model. However, evidence confirms that women entrepreneurs are not all the same. The ILO (2003) study found that women who expand their firms have a different profile from others. Most started as micro-enterprisers but were very committed to the development of their businesses from the beginning. The majority had completed at least secondary education, had previous employment experience or previously owned a business, were married to men with relatively high levels of education and professional, managerial or entrepreneurial jobs, and had access to financial resources and networks. The majority had attended management and entrepreneurship training courses and/or technical training and often participated in trade fairs. The majority plan to expand their enterprises and demonstrate growth aspirations.
Women entrepreneurs in the ILO growth study also demonstrated a high incidence of multiple-ownership; 30 per cent of the sample operated two enterprises and 16 per cent had more than two. They employed an average of 9.7 employees in their enterprises (total of 983 jobs); less than 5 per cent employed more than 20 people. Almost 80 per cent of their enterprises had some form of business licence, and 90 per cent had bank accounts.
To learn more about this author, visit International Labour Organization's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 |
Related Businesses - Evan Elite Authors |
|
The Evan Elite Authors program is currently in beta phase. For details please contact us.
|
|
|
|
![[Get Copyright Permissions]](http://license.icopyright.net/images/icopy-w.gif){kind=small}
