Afaemme is the Confederation of businesswomen organizations in the Mediterranean area, I set up 20 year ago this organization and join 63 businesswomen organizations from 23 Mediterranean countries, our headquarter is based in Barcelona-Spain

We have been working during this last 20 years in the promotion of women in businesses and positioning women in decision-making positions.

We have good news: women set up 1 to 3 new companies or startups in Meda Region. This percentage is highest than in Sillicon Valley. Technology Industry is one space were businesswomen can improve a lot, being very attractive their potential

Women entrepreneurship needs to be adressed separately for two main reasons, clearly identified by the OECD, in its work about entrepreneurship promotion.

The first reason is that, despite lower participation rates in entrepreneurship than men, women entrepreneurs are an important untapped source of economic growth. They create new jobs for themselves and others. And by being different they provide society with different solutions to management, organisation and business problems as well as to the exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities.

The second reason is that women generally choose to start and manage firms in primarily retail, education and other service industries, which are often perceived as being less important to economic development and growth than high technology and manufacturing.

 Furthermore and in part motivated by the above, mainstream research / policies and / programs often do not take into account the specific needs of women entrepreneurs.

Women are faced with specific obstacles that have to be overcome in order to give them access to the same opportunities as men.

For  Women to become successful entrepreneurs we find 5 main obstacles:

• Lack of experience. All stages in entrepreneurship for both men and women depend on previous education and work experiences and the related ability to discover and exploit opportunities. While this ability might be high among educated and skilled women, the incentives for doing so seem to be small as highly educated women usually choose other career options than entrepreneurship, especially at the beginning of their careers. The majority of unskilled or less skilled women entrepreneurs lack the ability to prepare their companies for survival and growth.

• Lack of role models. Role models are directly related to the number of emerging entrepreneurs and their influence is gender related (generally our choices tend to be more influenced by persons of the same sex). By having less women entrepreneurs than men there are automatically less successful women entrepreneurs than men and therefore less close and impacting role models for aspiring women entrepreneurs.

• Lack of capital. Women’s position in society has led to a lack of financial assets, which are a prerequisite for starting a firm. Family commitments (limitations to work on a full time basis and to engage in a career) and an existing gender pay gap increase women’s obstacles in generating incomes. Women’s legal position and rights to property are also directly influencing their entrepreneurial possibilities. And if women have less (or no) access to capital they will opt for opportunities with less growth potential. Furthermore, most investors will only invest if the entrepreneur can match the investment with their own resources (or collaterals). Finally, also gender stereotypes (women are not viewed, as entrepreneurs) and women entrepreneurs’ choice about the industry in which they are going to operate might influence financial institutions in their decision of credit availability.

• Lack of time. Very related to the mentioned domestic and childcare responsibilities it is stated, that women do not have enough free time to develop their entrepreneurial skills or to develop an existing business. Less time for meeting potential supporters/investors, accessing specific training or seeking for better customers or suppliers are clear burdens for women’s entrepreneurial development.

• Lack of relevant networks. Women are less present in professional and entrepreneurial networks that can guarantee them access to critical resources (also finance), support and information. Networks also strengthen the sense of self-confidence.

A natural solution for changing this situation is therefore a mixture of different policies and a change of attitudes.

Affordable childcare and equal treatment in the work place have to be guaranteed so to eliminate the labour force participation barrier.

Also crucial is to educate society about the value of women’s entrepreneurship: informing women themselves about the potential benefits of entrepreneurship (starting with young women) and informing the market of the value and importance of women entrepreneurship.

According to the IFC it is estimated that globally there are at about 9.34 formal million women-owned SMEs, which is approximately one third of all formal SMEs.

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, states that in only six economies (Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Peru and Indonesia) women show equal or higher entrepreneurship rates than men.

The good news is that now there are a variety of documented successful approaches to promote women’s equal opportunities in business and increasing examples of women entrepreneurs that have created highly successful firms. Several women-owned enterprises are well-positioned to enhance national prosperity and to contribute to economic growth and a better future. Especially, because women usually reinvest a much higher part of their earnings in their families and communities than men (in emerging markets, women reinvest 90% of their earnings in their families and communities), spreading wealth and creating a positive impact on future development.

From our experience, the financial independence is the key, and Governments should consider this, in order to involve with several policies the Financial Entities, to find solutions for businesses promoted by women.

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