AS Google this week announced that its philanthropic arm, Google.org, was committing R15.3 million in charitable funding to support programs helping women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, other organisations provided data highlighting different aspects of the business landscape women face.
Mojolaoluwa Aderemi Makinde, the head Brand and Reputation, Africa - Google, said “Research shows that 58 percent of small and medium-sized business entrepreneurs in Africa are women. Despite this, women-run businesses show, on average, 34 percent lower profits than those run by their male counterparts. They are also less likely to receive funding.”
Another survey conducted by 1st for Women Insurance, released this week, also found that women were more likely than men to choose entrepreneurship, not because they have a burning passion or the right skills, but because of a lack of better opportunities, according to 46 percent female respondents in.
The survey found that 93 percent of the respondents had #girlboss or entrepreneur ambitions.
In the survey, almost half (48 percent) of respondents felt that they were not provided with the same opportunities as men in a nine to five job. When asked what they would do if they were an entrepreneur, 30 percent said social media influencer, content creator or business consultant, 27 percent have their sights set on the food industry and 20 percent want to open an online business. Some 23 percent listed the ‘other’ category with hopes to one day open a beauty salon, become a singer, offer coding lessons to kids and be a taxipreneur, for example.
These aspirations carry massive potential. In the US, the fastest-growing segment of start-up companies are women-owned businesses to break free from social constraints, to achieve financial independence, to reduce the chance of being harassed or attacked and to have more control and influence over what happens in their lives. In South Africa, the statistics were less encouraging, but improving.
In South Africa, women comprise only 19.4 percent of business owners and yet, according to research by Development Economics, women-owned businesses established between 2018 and 2022 may generate R175 billion a year and create 972 000 jobs, the survey found. South African movement Future Females chief executive Lauren Dallas agreed with the idea of inspiring more female entrepreneurs and supporting their success better. “One of the best pieces of advice I received was that ‘those who push their way to the top of the mountain are rarely the ones that stand on top’.
“For anyone and everyone with the influence and capacity to support those coming up behind them - that is our responsibility. We are not fighting for equality to then make it equally hard for those coming up after us - we are clearing the path for the next wave of female activists, entrepreneurs, changemakers, to summit,” Dallas said.
Meanwhile, according to the latest Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs Index, announced on the side-lines of the annual 2022 Forbes Woman Africa Leading Women Summit presented by Mastercard, this week, South Africa moved up one place from 2020 to rank 37th on the 2021 Index with a score of 54.9, women’s advancement still remains hampered by less supportive entrepreneurial conditions compared to other global economies.
The US (rank 1; score 69.9), New Zealand (rank 2; score 69.8), and Canada (rank 3; score 68.6).
Despite this, South Africa moved up two places on the Women Business Owner benchmark to rank 44th, with 21.9 percent of all businesses owned by women in 2021 versus 21.1 percent in 2020. Botswana (38.5 percent) ranks first in the world with the highest percentage of women business owners, followed by Uganda (38.4 percent) and Ghana (37.2 percent).
Gabriel Swanepoel, the country manager of Mastercard, Southern Africa, said, “The fact that women entrepreneurial activity rates in South Africa grew in a year when many other economies did not, together with the fact that female necessity-driven entrepreneurship surpassed that of males, indicates their strong will, resilience and determination to survive.”
In another observations, Dell Technologies South Africa head of transformation Natasha Reuben said the conversation about gender equality had been pushed to the forefront in recent years, sparking positive changes across multiple industries and igniting greater awareness about gender bias. “But despite these improvements, huge gaps remain,” Reuben said.
A McKinsey study titled “Covid19 and gender equality” showed that women were more vulnerable to Covid-19 economic effects, with female job loss rates about 1.8 times higher than male job rates globally. Additionally, jobs for women were more at risk than male ones due to disproportionate representation of women in sectors negatively affected by the Covid-19 crisis.
“However, we know that better gender balance in organisations makes good business sense. Companies that have gender diversity are 21 percent more likely to have above-average financial returns, according to market research company Forrester. Keeping in mind the known economic benefits and the potential to drive innovative growth opportunities from both a social and economic standpoint, striving for gender balance is a clear necessity,” Reuben said.
In an annual study produced by the World Bank titled “Women, Business and the Law 2021”, the gender inequality amidst the global Covid19 pandemic was explored looking at eight key pillars. The pillars were mobility, workplace, pay, marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, assets and pension. The report analyses laws and regulations affecting women’s economic opportunities in 190 countries and shows promising results.
Results showed that despite the difficulties of the global pandemic, many economies have made gender equality a priority. Reuben said the results were reassuring with every region surveyed improving its average score.
“It’s encouraging to see that South Africa achieved an overall score of 88.1 where a score of 100 means that women are on an equal standing with men across the areas measured. This compares favourably with the global average of 76.5. It’s also interesting to note that South Africa has been selected by the Women, Business and Law team to participate in research into the motivations for legal reforms that countries have undertaken over the past 50 years.”
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