The Challenges of Growing Small Businesses - International Labour ...

Numerous research reports have been produced on the situation facing micro and
small-scale entrepreneurs in a number of African countries, and on women entrepreneurs
specifically (for example see Rutashobya & Olomi, 1999; Hayat, 1997; Haile, 1998; ECA,
undated; Hansen, 1989; Lwihula, 1999; Mayoux, 1988; Nchimbi, 2000; and Shuster,
1982). 3 The ILO has also provided support and published widely in this area. In the mid-
1990s, an ILO project in Asia aimed at promoting entrepreneurship among women in small
and cottage industries in five Asian countries, viz. India, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka
and Thailand, and gathered considerable information on the status of women entrepreneurs
in each of these countries (see for example Mishra, 1966). Subsequently, with the creation
of the ILO’s InFocus Programme on Boosting Employment through Small Enterprise
Development (IFP/SEED), an emphasis has been placed on enhancing economic
opportunities for women, and examining the issues which hinder and help in this respect.
A series of working papers on women’s entrepreneurship has been produced by the
Women’s Entrepreneurship Development and Gender Equality (WEDGE) 4 team and to
date studies have been prepared on Bangladesh (Karim 2001); Africa and Asia (Tunisia
and Zimbabwe in Africa, and Bangladesh and the Philippines in Asia – Marcucci, 2001);
the Caribbean (Barbados, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago – Ferdinand, 2001); Bulgaria
(Stoyanovska, 2001); Albania (Bezhani, 2002), Pakistan (Goheer, 2003), and Viet Nam
(Barwa, 2003), as well as further reports on Mauritius (Essoo, 2003) and the Indian Ocean
Islands (ILO, 2003). At the time of writing, reports on Laos, Cambodia, Cameroon,
Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia are in the pipeline. In addition, two further papers have
been prepared on best practice programmes and projects (Kantor, 2001), as well as on best
practice policies to support women’s entrepreneurship (Mayoux, 2001).
The OECD has also devoted considerable attention to the promotion of women’s
entrepreneurship, and two international conferences have been organized on this topic (see
OECD 1997 and 2000). Women’s entrepreneurship in particular is attracting the attention
of policy makers and researchers because it has been recognized during the last decade as
an important untapped source of economic growth. However, we still lack a reliable and
detailed picture of the economic impact of women’s entrepreneurship (Hall, 2003).
Furthermore, as part of its preparations for its SME Ministerial Conference in Istanbul,
Turkey (June 2004), the theme of Fostering Women’s Entrepreneurship has been
comprehensively addressed (see Delmar and Holmquist, 2003, and Finnegan, 2003a), and
the Conference provides the opportunity to extend efforts and to further enhance
knowledge about how women’s entrepreneurship affects economic growth and
development (Hall, 2003).
However, to date much of the research focus in developing countries has tended to be
on the position and profiles of women as micro and informal entrepreneurs, as well as on
examining broad generic problems facing women as a whole. Far less is known about the
specific group of women who are formalizing and growing their businesses beyond the
survival level. There are also knowledge gaps on the socio-economic and business
realities facing such women entrepreneurs, especially in the African context. It was these
issues and questions that prompted this particular research process on “Jobs, Gender and
Small Enterprises in Africa – a study on Women’s Enterprise Development”, in three
African countries – viz. Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia. Throughout the report, this will
be referred to as the WED Study.
3 At the end of the report there is an extensive bibliography which provides a source of references on women’s enterprise in
Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zambia, Africa in general, and elsewhere.
4 The relevant ILO website is as follows: www.ilo.org/seed (go to Women’s Entrepreneurship Development).
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