Women Entrepreneurs in the Middle East and North Africa: - CAWTAR

Introduction
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This important effort, in which five different
countries undertook very similar surveys among
comparable formal-sector women business owner
populations in a concurrent period of time,
provides new detailed information on the outlook
of women business owners in each country. It
showcases their sentiments about the growth and
development of their firms, the issue challenges
they are facing, and their views about what it is
like being a woman business owner in their
country. The study does not, however, purport to
represent the views of all women entrepreneurs in
each country, nor is there an ability – at this stage
– of comparing the responses of women business
owners to those of their male counterparts.
A unique value of this project, however, is the
ability to compare the findings across countries.
While women business owners in these countries
share many of the same sentiments and
characteristics, there are interesting differences
among them as well.
The first main section of this report does just that
– looks at the five surveys together, comparing
and contrasting results, drawing conclusions, and
making recommendations for consideration by
policy makers, corporate and institutional leaders,
and members of the women’s business
community.
Following the main body of this report are
executive reports for each of the five countries,
prepared by the country study teams. Next, an
Acknowledgements section highlights all of the
organizations and people involved in this study. A
section containing the survey instrument used by
each team, and the top-line results for every
question asked, follows. The report concludes with
a list of reference publications of interest, and a list
of links to organizations supporting women’s
enterprise development in the five countries.
Included in this report as well are brief profiles of
women business owners, which add richness and
qualitative, first-person stories to the quantitative
nature of the survey data. These profiles were
prepared from a number of personal interviews
conducted during the course of the project.
Women Entrepreneurs in the Middle East and North Africa:
Characteristics, Contributions and Challenges
It is hoped that this effort, and especially the
regional and country-specific analyses contained
herein, will spur increased interest in women’s
entrepreneurship throughout the region, be of
value to those interested in women’s enterprise
development around the world, and spark more
detailed research – including comparisons
between women and men – and additional
collaborative efforts of this type in these and other
countries.
This project would not have succeeded without
the passion and commitment of a large number of
individuals and institutions, who are listed in the
Acknowledgements section toward the end of this
report. The IFC and CAWTAR would like to
sincerely thank them for their involvement in this
important and unique effort.