entrepreneurship skills notes

1. Lesson 9: Women Entrepreneurs
Based on the general concept of entrepreneurship, the term can be defined as follows:
1. A woman or a group of women who initiate, organize and run a business enterprise.
2. Women who innovate, imitate or adopt a business activity.
3. “A confident, innovative and creative woman capable of achieving self-economic
independence individually or in collaboration, generates employment opportunities
for others through initiating, establishing and running the enterprise by keeping pace
with her personal, family and social life”
Why women become entrepreneurs
Women business owners cite a number of reasons for becoming entrepreneurs. The
analysis of the main reasons suggests the following trends:
1. Financial gains i.e desire to make money.
2. Being independent without having to rely on any one.
3. Desire to face challenges of entrepreneurship.
4. Lack of employment opportunities.
5. Family concerns-balancing career and family.
6. Lack of career advancement/discrimination at present jobs.
7. Desire to make social contribution, mainly desire to help others.
Areas chosen for entrepreneurship by women
i. Retail trade
ii. Restaurant
iii. Hotels
iv. Education
v. Cleaning,
vi. Insurance
vii. Manufacturing
viii. Beauty parlours etc.
Importance of women entrepreneurs
1. Creating employment for themselves thus improving their status in the society.
2. Creating employment for others.
3. Increasing production of goods and services leading to improved GDP and standards
of living of the people.
Role and functions of women in their enterprises
Just like male entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurs have five major functions
1. Exploring new opportunities
2. Introducing new innovations

2. 3. Undertaking risk and handling uncertainties
4. Co-ordination and control of their business activities
5. Supervision and providing leadership in all aspects of the business
Challenges and obstacles facing women Entrepreneurs
1. -Working women, be it for employment or their own enterprises face two fronts:
the job and the home. For this reason, they require a lot of intelligence, stamina
and patience to be able to balance the two sets of responsibilities.
2. Contrary to what is happening in the advanced countries, in less developing
countries, men do not help women in domestic work, they think home is the only
place they rest and get served.
3. Thus it can be concluded that women entrepreneurs face two types of problems
4. General problems faced by all entrepreneurs
5. Problems specific to women because of male dominated society
Given these unfavourable conditions, the development of women entrepreneurship is
expectedly low in the country (Kenya) compared to their male counterparts. When
analysing the problems faced by women in Kenya, they could be classified into two:
A. General problems
1. Problems of finance- They suffer lack of finance due to 2 reasons: they do not have
any property under their names, thus they lack collateral for obtaining funds from
external sources. Secondly, the banks are also reluctant to provide finance to women
for fear of default.
2. Scarcity of raw materials- There could be shortage of supply or the prices charged
would be very high for women to afford.
3. Marketing problems- Women are limited in marketing/advertising because of lack of
enough capital.
4. Lack of education- In some societies women do not have high level education, which
may contribute to poor management styles and business control.
5. High cost of production- Labour costs and high cost of low materials plus the cost of
overheads such as electricity contributes to this problem.
6. Poor quality control- This may be as a result of lack of training and lack of finances
to hire qualified personnel.
7. Low labour productivity- In Kenya, labour productivity is low, mainly because of
lack of modern equipment while in some cases cultural norms contribute a lot.
8. Lack of professional management- This could be due to lack of management skills
and low levels of training. For instance, many support organizations cite lack of sales
and marketing skills as the most common problem facing women entrepreneurs.

3. 9. Problems of technology- Women are not quick to adopt new technology. They use
outdated technology, mainly due to lack of funds and lack of awareness of modern
technology.
B. Specific Problems: Women entrepreneurs have to face special problems due to
their gender. The special problems faced by women entrepreneurs are as follows:
1. Family responsibilities- Women have to concentrate not only on the business work
but also on household aspects and this is not easy. Their businesses end up suffering.
2. Male dominated society- Women suffer from male reservations about women’s role,
ability and capacity, and as a result, women are not accorded the same status with
men.
3. Low risk-bearing ability- Women in third world and less developed economies lead
a protected life. Either they are less educated or economically not self-dependent. All
this reduces their ability to bear risk involved in running an enterprise.
4. Limited mobility- One of the biggest handicaps for women entrepreneurs is mobility
of travel from place to place. Their mobility is limited compared to their male
counterparts e.g. when dealing with government departments or travelling for
business purposes they have to consult their husbands.
5. Insecurity is another major issue because women cannot travel freely at anytime and
anywhere.
What needs to be Done/ Strategies to help women cope with the above problems
1. The development of women is that promotion of women entrepreneurs should form
an integral part of all development efforts.
2. Several national and international organisations and agencies have appreciated the
need for and importance of developing women entrepreneurs in recent years.
3. The following strategies should be adopted
i) Education and awareness- The government should focus on entrepreneurial
learning among women may be by organising workshops and seminars.
ii) Forming groups- Groups empower women and provide the necessary
confidence for entrepreneurship. Women co-operatives and NGOs should be
promoted to consist self-employment for poor women.
iii) Simplified procedures- Procedures for financial assistance by banks and
government agencies must be simplified.
iv) Better time management- Shouldering the dual responsibilities of an
entrepreneur and homemaker can be effectively undertaken by a woman
entrepreneur through better time management. If possible, she can involve the
family members in the business and if not then she can ask for their co-operation
and understanding.

4. v) Home-based business- Choosing a business she can operate from home, but
this depends on the trade she is in.
vi) Efficient use of information technology- Effective and efficient use of
information technology like the internet can help in assimilating information
about the variety range, quality of the products in the market as well as
publicity and marketing of product and services.
vii) Financial assistance- Collateral security should be dispensed within the case of
women entrepreneurs. Special financial departments and Funds enterprises for
women may be opened in various public financial institutions and banks for
providing easy finance to women entrepreneurs. Finance may be provided at
concessional rates of interest and on repayment basis.
viii) Training Facilities-Training centres, part time training facilities, especially
during afternoons and evenings. Issues of management and marketing
information/skills should be emphasized.
ix) Mentoring programmes and networking structures.
x) There should be special awards for outstanding women entrepreneurs in
various fields. This can be arranged by NGOs., organizations and the private
sector.