best and worst places for women entrepreneurs
DESCRIPTION
A study commissioned by the Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund ranks countries in Latin America and the Caribbean based on risks and support to women entrepreneurs. Here they are from the worst to the best...TRANSCRIPT
The best and worst places for women entrepreneursin Latin America and the Caribbean
A study commissioned by the Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund ranks countries in Latin America and the Caribbean based on risks and support to women entrepreneurs.
Here they are from the worst to the best...
#20 JamaicaWomen may have good access to business networks and voca6onal programs, but they enjoy li;le social services support. The biggest obstacles: poor investor confidence due to the government’s weak fiscal health, lack of SME technical support and limited credit availability.
CC Image courtesy of daimoneklund on Flickr
#19 ParaguayThere are programs suppor6ng women entrepreneurial development, but female enrolment in voca6onal courses is minimal. There is also poor presence of women in business enterprises and associa6ons. Women have low access to finance and technology.
CC Image courtesy of Arcadiuš on Flickr
#17 VenezuelaHigh infla6on and capital flight deter entrepreneurship in general. Women struggle to get loans and have limited opportuni6es for voca6onal training.
CC Image courtesy of Oriana Eliçabe on Flickr
#17 El SalvadorAccess to finance for women entrepreneurs and managers is among the lowest in the region. Tied for 17th place with Venezuela, El Salvador has no MSME law in place. Women, though, benefit from strong property rights and low total tax rate.
Photo courtesy Living Water International | www.water.cc
#16 GuatemalaThe economy is rela6vely stable, but the cost of star6ng and expanding businesses is high. Women enjoy sufficient property rights protec6on and child care support but have poor access to technology due to the country’s low Internet penetra6on rate, and paltry savings rates at financial ins6tu6ons.
Photo courtesy Shopmayu | www.shopmayu.com
#15 NicaraguaWomen find it difficult to obtain SME loans, partly due to banks’ conserva6ve lending prac6ces. Other obstacles for female entrepreneurs: heavy tax rates, poor technology access, low business sophis6ca6on and unequal property rights protec6on.
Photo courtesy OikocreditUSA | www.oikiocreditusa.org
#13 HondurasMore than a tenth of female top MSME managers say firms have to bribe public officials to get things done. It is unclear if the provision on strengthening gender equality under the 2008 MSME law has been implemented or monitored.
Photo by Cjmadson / CC BY-SA
#13 BoliviaTied for 13th place with Honduras, Bolivia provides strong property rights for women. But compared to the rest of the region, more female entrepreneurs say bribery is prevalent and have to endure more security costs.
CC Image courtesy of rabble on Flickr
#12 EcuadorThe cost of doing business has gone down and MSME regula6ons are deemed comprehensive. But MSME technical support is not available consistently. There is also a lack of women-‐specific training programs.
CC Image courtesy of IICD on Flickr
#11 Dominican RepublicIn 2010, women owned nearly half of all businesses and about a fiWh of companies have women as senior managers. Government spending on social services, however, is inadequate. About 60 percent of MSMEs view corrup6on as an obstacle to doing business.
CC Image courtesy offvarious visual stuff on Flickr
#10 BrazilMany women entrepreneurs can get loans from banks and financial investments. Beyond benefi6ng from good social services support such as elderly and child care, they receive technical support from government agencies. Corrup6on and crime percep6on among MSMEs, though, remain high.
CC Image courtesy of Adam Jones, Ph.D. - Global Photo Archive on Flickr
#9 PanamaWith a solid MSME legisla6on, women entrepreneurs encounter few barriers in doing business. But access to microfinance is low — fewer than half of microloan borrowers are women.
CC Photo courtesy mac_filko on Flickr
#8 Trinidad & TobagoCompared to their counterparts in the region, fewer women MSME managers say they need to bribe public officials to “get things done.” SME technical support for women entrepreneurs is limited, though.
Photo courtesy Youth Business Trinidad and Tobago | www.ybtt.org
#7 ArgentinaWith sufficient child, elderly and health care, women have more 6me for entrepreneurial pursuits. Exorbitant total tax rate for businesses (108% in 2012) bars entrepreneurship.
CC Photo courtesy illuminaut on Flickr
#6 Costa RicaThe risks of doing business – corrup6on, crime and disorder – for MSMEs, which account for around 70 percent of the economy, are rela6vely low. Women MSME owners can avail of broad technical assistance but li;le support from banks.
CC Photo courtesy janeyesee on Flickr
#5 UruguayWomen owned around 40% of MSMEs in 2012, according to the government. Though access to finance remains a huge challenge, women can take advantage of capacity and skills training programs as well as social services which are regarded as among the best in the region.
CC Photo courtesy Libertinus on Flickr
#4 MexicoWomen have good access to business networks and microfinance products and services (90% of women account for microloan borrowers). Social services are robust, though oWen they’re not available to women and only offered in ci6es.
CC Photo courtesy Dainis Matisons on Flickr
#3 ColombiaColombia serves women entrepreneurs well, with legisla6on ins6tu6onalizing technical, management and organiza6onal support to women-‐owned MSMEs na6onwide. Women MSME managers also have great access to business organiza6ons such as microfinance network Women’s World Banking. The cost of doing business, however, is considered higher than average.
CC Photo courtesy Luz Adriana Villa A. on Flickr
#2 PeruIt is rela6vely easy for women entrepreneurs to start a business, access SME financing and avail of capacity and skills training. Peru tops most other countries in the region when it comes to social services for women.
CC Photo courtesy Embajada de Estados Unidos en Perú on Flickr
#1 ChileThe country offers the most favorable environment for women entrepreneurs, with solid fiscal condi6on, poli6cal and ins6tu6onal stability, strong investor confidence, percep6on of good governance, low security risk, adequate social services and high access to technology.
CC Photo courtesy We-the solution on Flickr
Read more on boosting women entrepreneurship
Early lessons from Wal-Mart’s sourcing from women entrepreneurs
Boosting women’s entrepreneurship via mobile money