Archive for the 'Economic growth' Category

Zimbabwe Female Entrepreneurs Face Funding Challenges

When it comes to obtaining credit from financial institutions, the perception is quite dismal from Zimbabwe women entrepreneurs a recent survey shows.

Yet, according to the study “An Analysis of the Enabling Environment and Potential for Women’s Empowerment” by Dr. Charity Manyeruke on behalf of the Women Alliance of Business Associations in Zimbabwe (Wabaz), a significant segment of female entrepreneurs have not attempted to obtain funding from financial institutions.

The negative perception might be getting in the way of at least attempting to make things happen.  Even so, it’s still challenging to get funding.

•  Based on the study, 34 percent of the female entrepreneurs who undertook the survey consider obtaining credit from commercial banks as “very difficult.”

Learn more here.  Related article here.

Illustration credit:  Dr. Manyeruke’s book

Posted by:  Laurel Delaney

When It Comes to Giving, Measure What Matters

When giving money, give to nonprofits that measure what matters to you.  That’s advice from Mary Ellen Iskenderian (pictured), President and CEO, Women’s World Banking.

Watch video here:  big think interview

Posted by:  Laurel Delaney

Women Are Essential to the Revival of the U.S. Economy

As Kay Koplovitz (pictured) points out:

Women hold 80 % the purchasing power for consumer goods in the U.S., a sector accounting for a critical 70% of the U.S. economy. So we already know that women are essential to the revival of the U.S. economy.

Women are also a rising powerhouse in building the economy as founders of high growth companies.  Find out why by reading the entire article:

Women:  The Emerging Market in High Growth Businesses

Illustration credit here.

Posted by:  Laurel Delaney

Make a Difference For Women in Conflict-Stricken Countries

Are you running a business?  Then you might want to offer your skills to emerging entrepreneurs the world over.  Find out about the difference Bpeace (Bpeace blog) is making in our businesses and the lives of many Afghans — leading to peace building in Afghanistan.

Learn more here.

Photo credit here (related to Bpeace)

Posted by: Laurel Delaney

Where in the World Are Women Rising Fastest?

Where are women entrepreneurs rising fastest?  Forget the advanced country of the United States!  It’s Sao Paulo (related article here), Manila and Mumbai where women are leapfrogging to business ownership.  What are they selling?  Think simplistically:  mangoes and home-made blouses.

Women in these countries are newly empowered by remarkable gains in political representation, legal rights and, especially, education. But more important, they are rising in the 21st century’s key economic strata: as business owners.

Read the entire article here.

Illustration credit:  DCED

Posted by:  Laurel Delaney

Strengthening Women’s Role in the Global Economy

A great speech by a senior state department official on how to unlock a vital, undertapped resource in our world:  women.

She also makes the point that at the beginning of the 21st century, we are entering what she calls the participation age where every individual regardless of gender or other characteristics is poised to be a contributing and valued member of the global marketplace. But in order for that to happen, we have to remove the structural and social impediments stacking the deck against them, and particularly against women. We don’t have a person to waste, and we certainly don’t have …

Read:  Background Briefing on Women in the Global Economy

Posted by:  Laurel Delaney

How Kenyan Businesswoman Succeeds After Receiving U.S. Training

Our sister organization, The Global Small Business Blog, under its parent organization GlobeTrade.com, just published their latest monthly e-newsletter, “Borderbuster,” (Issue No. 116 – sign up here) and it is only fitting for this blog post to mention the quote that was featured under the Wind Behind Your Sail section:

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” ~Winston Churchill

That said, two years ago, Eunice Mwongera (pictured left) decided to grow her Hillside Green Growers and Exporters Company, a family-owned fruit and vegetable business. A graduate of Nairobi University and former finance officer at the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture, Ms. Mwongera, applied for the USDA Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology (Borlaug) Fellowship Program.

Within a year of completing her fellowship, Ms. Mwongera had successfully applied many of the business skills and concepts she learned. Not only had she succeeded in increasing export markets for Hillside Green from three to seven countries, but Mwongera also started her own poultry, rabbit, and fish farming operation. In addition, Mwongera modified her company’s strategic and export plans, aligned Hillside Green’s food safety standards with international industry standards, and adopted new technologies.

Learn more about Ms. Mwongera’s success story here and visit the Borlaug Fellowship Program here.

So back to Churchill’s quote above, yes, Mwongera is giving back after receiving U.S. training.  We are delighted to know and we wish her continued success with her business expansion initiatives.

Related article:

Eunice Mwongera of Hillside Green Growers Is Featured in World Bank’s Quarterly Publication

Photo courtesy here.

Posted by:  Laurel Delaney

Give Women Equal Opportunity in India

It’s that pure and simple.  Let’s get it done.

“India’s growth rate can make a quantum jump of 4.2 per cent if women in the country get equal opportunity in the core sectors of the economy,” Lakshmi Puri, Assistant Secretary-General of UN Women — the newly created body tasked with ensuring welfare of women — said here.

According to a report, Progress of the World’s Women, it says:

Quoting a survey this year by industry chamber ASSOCHAM: 70 per cent of women in India are not aware of their rights as laid out in the Constitution.

It said close to 63 per cent of women in India, between the ages of 15 and 49, lack autonomy in their house which “defined as having no say in any of the vital everyday decisions like own health care, large household purchases, purchases for daily needs and visits to family or relatives.”

Read more here.

Posted by:  Laurel Delaney

Irish Ambassadors for Female Entrepreneurship Encourage More Women to Start a Business

Minister for Small Business John Perry TD encourages more women to start their own business.  Irish Ambassadors for Female Entrepreneurship (Facebook page) have been appointed by the European Commission to promote and encourage more women to become entrepreneurs and set up businesses.

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report for Ireland 2010 noted that fewer women than men are active as entrepreneurs.  Perry said:

“It is therefore vitally important that we provide the right environment to foster the development of this untapped female entrepreneurial talent across all sectors of Irish business.”

Learn more here.

Photo credit:  Irish Ambassadors for Female Entrepreneurship – inauguration event in Stockholm featuring the Ambassadors.

Posted by:  Laurel Delaney

Exporting High Impact Entrepreneurship the World Over

Nonprofit Endeavor CEO Linda Rottenberg (pictured) is exporting American entrepreneurship and networking to countries in Latin America and beyond to boost employment and GDP.  She aspires to build profitable small businesses on a global scale.

Results:  Last year Endeavor Entrepreneurs generated $286 for every dollar donated to Endeavor.  Wait, there’s more.

Go here to learn more.  Stop in here to donate.

Posted by:  Laurel Delaney

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