In Africa, 25% of women start their own business. They would be at the origin of 65% of the wealth of the continent.
do you Know Kate Kanyi-Tometi ? This Cameroonian, founder of Telcar Cocoa, dominates africa’s exports of cocoa, to the tune of 30 % of the market, and today stands at the head of a fortune estimated at around 240 million euros. It is among the ten most powerful women in the continent according to Forbes magazine. Kate Kanyi-Tometi embodies success through entrepreneurship, a way that is particularly prized by african women, according to a study published on 27 September by the firm Roland Berger on the occasion of the summit on Women in Africa.
They would, in fact, 24% of the 312 million women 18 to 64 years in the mainland to engage in business creation. A figure that made African champions in the world of business creation. They arrive well ahead of their counterparts in Latin America (17 %), north America (12 %), zone, south-east Asia/Pacific (11 %) and the Middle East (9 %). Europe and central Asia are closing the market with an interest rate of 6 %. In total, the study estimated that between 150 and 200 billion dollars of value added are created by African women who produce 65 per cent of the wealth of the continent. “The women have decided to take their destiny in hand and to gain their independence, in spite of serious obstacles related to access to finance and a lack of infrastructure,” says Anne Bioulac to the origin of this study.
opportunities in tech
African women are needed more and more in growth sectors. The digital that has exploded, particularly in countries such as Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, participated in this paradigm shift. Today, 700 million people are internet users and mobile device users. The market is huge and the opportunities immense. Fatoumata Bâ, the figure of the tech african, comes as well to have a successful fundraising of one million euros for his new project “Janngo” called “the first social start-up studio” of Africa. The idea is to develop digital platforms key in hand in order to improve market access and competitiveness of african SMES, while creating skilled jobs direct and indirect in particular for women and young people. The thirty-year-old has already founded Jumia Côte d’ivoire, an e-commerce website born in Nigeria, now present in 14 african countries. When African women have access to positions of high responsibility, they are inventing a model of management that is more equitable and inclusive, and more cost-effective : according to the study of Roland Berger, “a company headed by a woman achieved a return 34 % higher”.
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paradoxes amazing
in sub-saharan Africa represents the region most prolific in the field of entrepreneurship, with 26% of women entrepreneurs. In contrast, only 8% of women start a business in North Africa and 10% in South Africa. These disparities arise from factors socio-economic and cultural realities, different according to the regions. The report also points to two paradoxes. The first : there are more women entrepreneurs in the countries with low literacy rates. “Entrepreneurship becomes a necessity due to the lack of professional opportunities,” says the study. “Often, women engage in entrepreneurship because they cannot enter the labour market, and have little or no qualifications,” says Anne Bioulac. Second paradox : motherhood is not, in Africa, a barrier to female entrepreneurship. Almost unexpectedly, the african women entrepreneurs are often those who have many children. Because they must support themselves, not only their needs, but also those of their entire family.
financing remains an obstacle
The main obstacle to development of entrepreneurship of women in Africa remains the funding. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2017, nearly 30% of women entrepreneurs african abandon their activity on a path due to lack of resources. The economist Hervé Lado points out in the report of Roland Berger that women are asked to provide additional guarantees when they are trying to raise funds. Vivian Nwakah earns his side a “difference of treatment of investors, who seem to be men more often than women”.
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The african women also face challenges in accessing intellectual resources – training – and-relational – networks – in order to develop their activity. Barriers that are not specific to the entrepreneurs of the black continent : the creative business around the world often suffer the same weaknesses.