Rural Entrepreneurship for Women: A Case for Wealth Creation by Africa’s Rural Poor amidst Global Financial and Economic Crises (original) (raw)
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Women Entrepreneurship as a Cutting Edge for Rural Development in Nigeria
Developing Country Studies, 2013
Rural development is more than ever before linked to entrepreneurship. Institutions and individual promoting rural development now see entrepreneurship as a strategic development intervention that could accelerate the rural development process. Furthermore, institutions and individuals seem to agree on the urgent need to promote rural enterprises; development agencies see rural entrepreneurship as an employment potential, politicians see it as the key strategy to prevent rural unrest; farmers see it as an instrument for improving farm earnings; and women see it as an employment possibility near their homes which provides autonomy, independence and a reduced need for social support. To all these groups, however, entrepreneurship stands as a vehicle to improve the quality of communities and to sustain a healthy economy and environment. Without entrepreneurial capabilities which are well developed or potentially available, external funds will be wasted on projects that will not provide long term economic growth. Rural entrepreneurship stimulates local entrepreneurial talent and subsequent growth of indigenous companies; it finds a unique blend of resources either inside or outside of agriculture. Therefore to accelerate economic development in rural areas, it is necessary to increase the supply of entrepreneurs, thus building up the critical mass of first generation entrepreneurs who will take risk and engage in uncertainties of new venture creation, create something from practically nothing and create values by pulling together a unique package of resources to exploit. The paper therefore deals with the following three issues: firstly, it sets out reasons why promoting entrepreneurship is a force of economic change that must take place if many rural communities are to survive, secondly, it deals with what policies are necessary in order to create an environment in rural areas conducive for entrepreneurship and thirdly, it considers developing and promoting of women entrepreneurship as a way for sustainable rural development in Nigeria.
2018
The research and publication of this report would not have been possible without the generous support and effort of partners. To this end, we thank the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) for the generous financial support of this research. Also, we appreciate the time, expertise and ideas of the individuals who facilitated this baseline survey. In particular, the following are to be thanked: Ms Irene Achola for her research support that was instrumental in the study.
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS AND RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA
Review of Literature, 2014
Most people think that women's jobs are to build and maintain the home, like cooking, fetching water, and raising children. Women's status in India has changed since the turn of the century as a result of social legislation, globalization, and growing industrialization. Women have moved from the kitchen to higher levels of professional activities as a result of the spread of education and awareness. Since the beginning, entrepreneurship has been dominated by men. However, over time, the situation has changed, and today, women are the most notable and inspirational entrepreneurs. Women are now competing with men in the business world in almost every developed nation in the world. It is inevitable that women entrepreneurs will play a role in economic growth. Women's entrepreneurial skills are crucial to achieving larger development goals like growth with equity. According to studies, many female entrepreneurs face more challenging work environments than their male counterparts. Women entrepreneurs are more affected than men by political instability, inadequate infrastructure, high production costs, and a hostile business environment. The legal and sociocultural context, as well as restricted access to important resources like land and credit, pose serious obstacles. In the age of globalization, shifting trade patterns and evolving technologies necessitate skill development, which many African entrepreneurs lack. The contribution that female business owners have made to the growth of the economy is briefly examined in this paper.
Challenges and Opportunities for Rural Women Entrepreneurs
International Journal of Research in Commerce, Economics and Management, 2013
Since rural women constitute a major segment of Indian population and due to their pivotal role their role in the nation building is significant. Due to lack of education they are less likely to get employment. Further low family income also requires them to go for self-employment i.e. entrepreneurship. This paper addresses challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in rural areas. Besides that the paper also explores the opportunities prevailing for rural women entrepreneurs.
Micro and Macro Economic Development in Nigeria: What Role for the Rural Woman Entrepreneur
J o u r n a l o f A c c o u n t i n g a n d M a n a g e m e n t J A M v o l. 6 , n o. 3 (2 0 1 6) Abstract: Over time, the woman has been confined by culture and nature to a second class role behind man. In the economy arena, she is seen as playing the supportive roles for the sustenance of the social status quo but in a very restricted mode which have little direct impact on local or national development. It is in the light of this fact that this paper examines the importance of empowering women for entrepreneurial roles in rural communities with the aim of achieving national development and growth. Data for the study was based on a 2013 survey of over 100 household businesses in Dutsin-Ma, Katsina state. The final sample size of 115 was determined through random selection of women operated businesses and this comprises of 57 full-time housewives and 58 partially employed housewives. It was discovered that culture plays a significant role in the determination of the willingness to partake in enterprising venture (97%), while only 23% of the respondents indicate strong interest in setting up a private venture. It was also discovered that education plays an important role in the building of entrepreneurial interest among the respondents. The study concluded that the first point of call for the empowerment of rural women for entrepreneurial roles is the provision of enlightenment through education.
This study was conducted to assess disparities in women entrepreneurship in urban and rural communities in Cross River state. Specifically the study was aimed at identifying motivation for entrepreneurship by urban and rural women, identifying entrepreneurship activities engaged by urban and rural women entrepreneurs and challenges faced by urban and women entrepreneurs in the state. The study adopted survey design while cluster sampling technique was used to select samples. Questionnaires were used for data collection while percentages were used for data analysis. The study reveals that most women entrepreneurs from age category 41-45 while in rural areas, most of them were from ages of 36-40. In both areas, majority of the women were married. Majority of urban women entrepreneurs had tertiary education while in rural communities; most of the women had secondary education. Further, most of the women in urban areas were from monogamous relationships while relationships of most of rural women entrepreneurs were from polygamous. The study also found that entrepreneurship activities engaged by urban women entrepreneurs included mostly retail stores, followed by jewelry or boutiques, event management outfits, beautician shops and tailoring shops and small eateries. For the rural women, the most common business activities were agricultural business, followed by food restaurants, palm wine/beer joints and retail shops. Urban women entrepreneurs sourced their capital from mostly family, followed by personal savings, financial institutions and friends. Rural counterparts sourced capital mainly from informal financial institutions, followed by sale of crops and friends. The most common motivations for entrepreneurship for urban women entrepreneurship included the need to generate extra income while social status was the least motivation. For rural women, support their family members was the most common reason. Challenges faced by urban women entrepreneurs mostly included conflicts between business and family functions and lack of access to credit, inexperience and gender discrimination. For rural women, lack of funds, gender discrimination, government neglect in entrepreneurship programmes, low education and lack of business skills were the challenges. The study therefore recommended for opportunities for access to capital urban and rural women, involvement of rural women in entrepreneurship programmes and gender equality.
Entrepreneurship Development of Rural Women
2020
This paper deals with the practices for strengthening of woman has risen as a significant notion of modern social structure. The financial strengthening of women is being viewed as one of the basic factors of development for a nation. Therefore concerned literature, political scholars, social researchers and reformers have emphasized on tools & practices for social & economic independence of women. Local and central government have come up with plans and projects for ascertaining monetary freedom of women, especially from below poverty line. NGOs & SHGs have helped in development of the Micro – economic sustainability. With the exploration of entrepreneurial opportunities, women have become financially autonomous and generate business opportunities for other needy men and women in the vicinity. This paper discusses the facts and figures of women entrepreneurial development in rural Bihar, India.
2013
Women entrepreneurs play an important role in local economies because many micro-enterprises in developing countries are operated by women. This study therefore sought to examine the effectiveness of steps aimed at developing rural women entrepreneurs and to find out whether women entrepreneurship enhances welfare. Simple random sampling was used to get all elements in the population under study to have equal chance of selection. Questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions were employed in the data collecting process. The research findings revealed that training and financial support for women owned businesses was inadequate. Further, it was established that women entrepreneurship increases welfare and reduces poverty through improved access to healthcare, quality food and clothing as a result of developing rural entrepreneurs. It is therefore recommended that to foster efforts aimed at reducing poverty, education, skills training and credit-access policies should be targ...
Rural Women Entrepreneurship in Uganda : A Synthesis Report On Policies, Evidence, and Stakeholders
2017
There is growing emphasis in the policy debate on rural women's entrepreneurship as a poverty alleviation strategy and a preferred tactic to spur economic development. To this end, this synthesis report puts into perspective the nature of Uganda's rural woman entrepreneurs, paying close attention to the women targeted by the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP). This report focuses on rural women's entrepreneurship. However, challenges identified may not be limited to this category alone but also extend to the poorest urban entrepreneurs with similar characteristics. Using qualitative and quantitative data from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBoS), findings indicate that: Most rural women are illiterate (about 75 percent) and run informal non-farm enterprises that are micro and seasonal in nature. Accessing finance through local groups such as Rotating Savings and Credit Associations was most common for rural women in business. Thus, training materials partic...