A renowned Economist, Mr Kwame Pianim, has made a strong case on the need for African governments to support women entrepreneurs on the continent.
Speaking at a virtual roundtable discussion held on Wednesday, May 27, 2020, Mr Pianim argued that the private sector on the continent will do better when more women are supported to participate in it. He says current trends suggest that African Women Entrepreneurs do better than their male counterpart, hence Governments ought to support them to help build the continent.
“Total entrepreneurial agility reads; a measure of new entrepreneurs suggest that African Women entrepreneurs are surging”, he said.
Surge in Women entrepreneurs
He added that a 2019 report suggest that global average of women entrepreneurs was 10.2% as compared with 15.1% for low income countries and 21.8% for Sub-Saharan Africa.
“This is interesting because the MasterCard index on women entrepreneurs sheds some light on this surge of African Women entrepreneurs”, he stated.
The MasterCard index, he says, shows that there are more women entrepreneurs in Uganda, Ghana and Botswana than in any developed market.
This increase in women entrepreneurs across Africa is necessity driven. As compared to their counterparts in the advanced countries whose surge are as a result of opportunities created for them by their governments. He further added that Africa women have over the years proven their entrepreneurial prowess,. They operate in different businesses to fend for themselves and their families, even without any direct support.
He gave an example of a friend whose mother, after the death of their father, lost everything to the extended family and therefore resorted to entrepreneurship to raise all five of them through to tertiary education. This is a case of entrepreneurship out of necessity which millions of African women find themselves in. Such women simply need support, and more so, during the COVID-19 era.
“The Nigerian song that says sweet mother, our African mothers are not only sweet, they are amazingly entrepreneurial and resilient and so if we can extend a little support to our women, they will do wonders”, he said.
The roundtable discussion, themed “Democracy, Politics, Leadership and the Development of Africa”, was organised by Ishmael Yamson and Associates and it brought together experts in governance, economy and academia.
By Salifu B.B. Moro
