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4.2 The profile of growth-oriented women: Support for Growth-oriented Women Entrepreneurs in Tanzania, 2005

Written by: International Labour Organization

Article Overview: 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.

4.2 The profile of growth-oriented women: Support for Growth-oriented Women Entrepreneurs in Tanzania, 2005

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.

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  8.0 Promotion of women’s entrepreneurship: Support for Growth-oriented Women Entrepreneurs in Tanzania, 2005
  8.1 Recommended actions – promotion: 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
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Article Tags: business activities, entrepreneurial career, growth firms, growth rate, ILO, medium sized enterprises, micro enterprises, UDEC, women entrepreneurs



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