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

4.7.1 Vision for the future
In Tanzania only eight (6 per cent) of the women entrepreneurs felt they would be
downsizing their businesses in the near future (5 years), whereas 84 per cent had plans to
grow their business by employing more people, adding new products and making new
investments. When discussed in more concrete terms, of those planning to grow their
business, about 20 per cent aspire to have more than 20 employees in the next five years,
and a further 45 per cent feel they will grow but still have less than 10 employees. Overall
the researchers concluded that women in the survey “have a very positive outlook on the
future and plan to further develop their enterprises” (ILO, 2003b, p. 29).
In Ethiopia 96 per cent of the women said that they had future plans for their business
and 60 per cent felt confident that they would be operating the business in five years time.
Of the remainder, 20 per cent felt they would not be in their current business but another
business, and only 3 (2 per cent) of the women felt they would not be in any business at all
in the next 5 years. It is interesting to note that many of the women saw their future plans
for the business as closely connected to the well-being of their families. As well as
traditional measures of future growth – such as employment, more sales and profits – it
was also seen as important for the business to provide the women and their families with
better living conditions and to meet their needs.
In Zambia the perspective of the woman entrepreneur given below is indicative of
many of the women entrepreneurs interviewed and how they associate business success
with personal and family success.
With regards to the impact of the business on the living standards of the family, I would say
that there has been a big one. In fact, with income from the salon I have bought a farm and
several houses. I still have children who are at school and I have to use money from the salon.
I have also gained respect from my children. Even as a single mother, I have been able to send
all my children (5 daughters) to school and I have bought property for each of my children
from the same business. As regards to my future plans, I am investing a lot in building. I have
already bought houses in Kabwata and Nyumba Yanga (both in Lusaka). I want to have at
least 9 more hair dryers and at least 6 more workers. (ILO, 2003c, p. 48)
4.7.2 Constraints on further growth
In Tanzania the main constraints of the growth of their business that the women
entrepreneurs perceived related to finance (23 per cent), intense competition (12.5 per
cent), corruption of regulatory officials (9 per cent), and accessing appropriate premises
(9.4 per cent). Whilst premises was the fourth stated problem for all businesses taken
together, it was the second most important for those in the food sector, as they faced
particular problems with finding premises in compliance with food standards. In Tanzania
the focus on finance as a constraint was partly explained by the women’s reliance on their
own savings – 79 per cent of the women said that they used their savings as the primary
means of further financing their business. However, fewer of the women (12 per cent) got
funding from their families for growth than at the start-up stage (21 per cent), and more of
the women were accessing loans from MFIs than at the business start-up stage (25 per cent
as compared to 8 per cent respectively).
In Ethiopia the women entrepreneurs saw the greatest challenges for the future
growth of the business as being lack of working capital (48 per cent), lack of confidence to
take greater risks (21 per cent), lack of skills to negotiate better terms and conditions of
business (10 per cent), and affordable premises (9 per cent). Financially most of the
women entrepreneurs (69 per cent) relied on their own profits to resource further growth,
with only 19 per cent obtaining loans from the bank or an MFI. Those getting loans from
the bank tended to use their family property as collateral to secure the loans. Many (44 per
cent) of the women with business premises felt that they were paying too much for their
52