This document provides information about supporting women entrepreneurs and growing their businesses. It discusses how women start businesses at higher rates than men in Canada but men are more likely to grow them. The barriers women face in expanding their businesses are also examined. Examples are given of programs around the world that aim to help women in the "missing middle" - those with established small businesses looking to grow further. These programs provide coaching, networking, and advice. The document argues that supporting women entrepreneurs benefits credit unions, businesses, and the overall economy.
1. A Tool Kit for Credit Union
Leaders and Lenders
Module Five
2. Why do more women than men start
businesses in Canada but more men grow
them?
What barriers do women face in growing
their businesses?
How can credit union leaders and lenders
better support women to grow their
businesses?
3. Vancity Community Foundation undertook
Women Entrepreneurs: Financing
Opportunities for Growth
project between 2011 – 2013 to address
these questions.
The project included extensive
research and a pilot project for women
entrepreneurs.
4. The content of this tool kit reflects what we
learned from project participants, service
providers and advisors about how credit
unions in Canada can better support
women to grow their businesses and, by
extension, support greater economic
activity and job creation.
5. Welcome to Module Five:
Women Entrepreneurs: An
Emerging Growth Market
Around The World
6. “..this isn’t a commentary on what women can and
cannot do, nor do we want to discount our male
fellows, who are exceptional in their own right.
Instead, this is a challenge to push past this
rhetoric of “we need to invest in women because
they yield results”—and focus on the how, the
who, and with how much money.
The why should no longer be a question.”
Nidhi Chaudry, September 2012
http://www.nextbillion.net/blogpost.aspx?blogid=2942
7. Introduction
• The previous modules were intended to
enhance understanding about the role of
credit unions leaders and lenders and how
they can support women entrepreneurs to
grow their businesses.
• This module highlights why and how
organizations around the world are
supporting women’s businesses at key
stages of growth
8. Women Entrepreneurs: Need to
Position as Economic Drivers
Around the world
– women continue to start and grow businesses at a remarkable
rate – owning approximately 38% of all small businesses
– there is a growing recognition that microfinance is good for
women but only part of the solution
– forward thinking financial service and other organizations are
investing in services & programming to reach women
entrepreneurs and foster their business growth
– the importance of reaching and serving established, small
women-owned businesses that want to grow but need help is
gaining momentum (the “missing middle”)
9. The “Missing Middle”
• Economist C. Kauffmann originally coined the term the
“missing middle”. It referred to small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) in emerging countries that often find
it difficult to access financing, especially when compared
to micro enterprises and very large enterprises.
• Missing middle now used to refer to segment of women
entrepreneurs with profitable small companies who want
to grow but often cannot readily find the financing, tools
and networks needed to do so.
10. The Missing Middle – why focus on this
stage of women-owned business?
• Many policies and programs address the needs
of women business owners at the two ends of
the entrepreneurial spectrum – very small/start-
up businesses or large, fast growing, venture-
backed enterprises.
• A dearth of attention is paid to the “missing
middle” – owners of small, established
enterprises, particularly those with revenues
between $100,000 - $999,000 (Research in
Brief, Womenable, May 2007)
11. Understanding the Missing Middle
In 2006, an pilot survey of members of
the National Association of Women Business
Owners (US) was conducted.
Those surveyed who fit their definition of the
“missing middle:”
– had been in business for at least 3 years, and
– had 2005 revenues between $100,000 – $999,999
The survey revealed several key findings.
12. Key Finding – A Desire for Growth
Missing middle women business owners:
– have a strong desire for growth and a greater
than average need for assistance to achieve
that goal
• 57% would like to grow their businesses
and need help
• 64% are searching for specific growth tools
13. Key Finding: Need Help to Grow
They want to grow their businesses but
don’t know how.
– 67% want to learn from each other
– 54% say they lack managerial skills
– 42% interested in finding a mentor
– 38% say they lack mentors or role models
14. Targeting the Missing Middle:
What’s Happening:
Here are three examples of initiatives aimed at
supporting the growth of existing, small
businesses;
1) Enterprising Women’s Growth Programme (UK)
http://www.enterprising-women.org
2) Count Me In’s Make Mine a Million (US)
http://makemineamillion.org/about/
3) Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneurial Winning Women (US)
http://www.ey.com/us/entrepreneurialwinningwomen
15. Enterprising Women’s Growth
Programme (UK)
• Enterprising Women started in 2006 in response to recognized need
to unlock and stimulate the economic potential of women’s
entrepreneurship.
• Targets women business owners with annual revenues between
£100,000 and £1.4m
• Programme Model: selected applicants participate in 6 days of
intensive, interactive training plus access mentoring and coaching.
End goal for participants is to develop a “Strategic Action Plan” for
business growth. Elements include:
1. Overcoming personal barriers, developing management and leadership skills
2. Prioritising most feasible business growth model
3. Principles of finance, investing in growth & accessing finance
4. Managing growth, recruitment, building & leading teams
16. Make Mine a Million(M3) Program
• Launched in 2005 by Count Me In with Founding Sponsor American
Express OPEN.
• Targets women-owned businesses with revenues between $85,000
– $750,000 wanting to grow into million dollar enterprises.
• Program Model: City-based, business competitions where finalists
present their businesses in 3 minute pitches to a panel of experts
and live audience. They compete for business development
packages that include:
1. business coaching
2. marketing & PR
3. technological assistance
17. Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneurial Winning
Women Program
• Developed program in 2008 in collaboration with Babson College’s
Center for Women’s Leadership.
• Targets female company founders with potential to ‘grow big;’ must
have reported minimum $1 million in sales for past two years.
• Program model: selected applicants coached on 5 crucial actions
and exposed to entrepreneurs, investors and advisors to help them:
1. think big and be bold
2. build a public profile
3. work on the business, rather than in it
4. establish key advisory networks
5. evaluate financing for expansion
18. Continuum of Entrepreneurial Women:
Where is your credit union’s target market
segment(s)?
Micro Established
Enterprise The Missing Middle: Businesses
second stage women-owned businesses positioned
for next growth phase
$100K annual revenues $1million annual revenues
Sub-Profiles
•Sole proprietors
1) Determine financing, advisory and
•Social entrepreneurs business support needs of target missing
•Home-based businesses middle segment(s)
•Husband and wife teams
•Women’s business partnerships 2) Determine opportunities for strategic
•Women’s cooperative businesses
•Aboriginal entrepreneurs (on and off
collaboration with community partners to
reserve) reach and serve target segment(s)
•Immigrant or refugee entrepreneurs
19. Around the World Banks are Taking Notice
• Growing recognition of the benefits of financing
women-owned businesses:
– Access to a large, untapped, underserved market
– High repayment rates - microfinance payback rates
exceeding 95%
– Market differentiation
– Increased brand value
– Increased social impact - increasing women’s access
to finance facilitates greater spending on family
welfare, nutrition and children’s education
20. Westpac Banking Corporation (Australia)
About: In the late 1990s Westpac underwent a cultural shift to
develop into the bank of choice for women – they recognized there was
an untapped business segment requiring improved service.
How:
They established national and state Women in Business units and a
Women’s Investment Advisory Service with financial advisors
specializing in:
• investment planning
• education and risk management
• business services for women
Results: Three years later the program grew to A$504m
(US$382million) in new business.
21. Bank of Scotland (United Kingdom)
About: In 2003 bank created award-winning
Women in Business Program
How:
• Sensitize frontline staff to differences between male and female
owners
• Better communicate financial products to women through increasing
comfort levels and reducing fear of approaching banks
• Publish bi-annual magazine - Big Fish - to share female role model
success and business tips
• Sponsor organizations and initiatives that improve products and
services for women in business
Results:
• Bank of Scotland quadrupled number of women ‘sole trader’ clients
• 72% of female clients polled said they recommended Bank of
Scotland to others
22. KeyBank’s Key4Women Program
(United States)
About: Began in 1999 as marketing outreach and technical assistance
program for women-owned firms. Recognized as a best practice
program by Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in 2006.
How:
• Offer same loans and lines of credit as KeyBank, but customized for
women clients
• Dedicated relationship managers to assist with loan applications and
other needs
• Targeted and ongoing education programs & networking events
Results:
In April 2007 KeyBank announced commitment it would lend 2 billion to
qualified women-owned firms. In 2009 they met that goal, three years
ahead schedule.
23. Empowering Women, Building
Business and Driving Economic
Renewal at the Same Time
• The emerging opportunity for credit unions with
women entrepreneurs:
many build social and environmental values into their
business aligned to co-operative principles
– they seek like-minded organizations to do business
– they want to learn more about how to finance their
business growth
– they want to establish a long-term, trusting
relationship with their financial institution
– many are motivated to grow their businesses but
need help
24. What are the outcomes when
we invest in women?
For women:
Increased economic independence.
For credit unions:
An increase in the credit union’s market share with
women entrepreneurs that is more fully aligned to
co- operative values.
For society:
Increased economic development that includes the
full potential of entrepreneurial creativity, rather than
excluding potential talent – talent often historically
ignored.
26. Quiz
• Please click on this link to review the
points covered in this module.
• Note to Reviewer:
– Modules will include an optional, online quiz
(5 to 6 questions), that will reinforce some of
the key points made in the module.
