We need more women business owners, says general manager
NETWORK REPORTER
THERE are not enough female-owned businesses in South Africa.
This is according to Gugu Mjadu, the executive general manager for Business Partners Limited.
“There has been a marked decline of female ownership of micro-, smalland medium businesses in South Africa, with female-owned businesses decreasing by 10% from 48% in 2008 to just 38% in 2017, according to a World Bank Report.
“Considering South Africa’s recently released GDP figures, which showed a drop of 1.4% in the fourth quarter of 2019, we can’t afford to have over half of the country’s population not engaging in entrepreneurial activity,” she said.
Mjadu said once there were more woman-owned businesses, it would help society become more accepting of women in leadership positions, alleviating restrictive expectations placed on them by cultural and societal norms.
“Women bring a particular set of unique skills to business which their male counterparts may not exhibit, adding a new perspective and approach to the business decision-making space. This can include a more nuanced view of risk, greater creativity, seeing different gaps in the market and prioritising collaboration, according to research.”
Growing the number of women-owned businesses would also help alleviate poverty, according to Mjadu.
“Poverty affects women more than men, due to factors like a disproportionate burden of unpaid work and childcare responsibilities. By creating wealth among women it would help to end the poverty cycle and create a more equal society.”
She said having more women in business could increase job opportunities to combat South Africa’s high unemployment rate, which stands at 29.1%.
Business Partners Limited client Abegail Nakedi faced late payments and staff resignations when she quit her job to run a preschool.
Nakedi said while starting her own business turned out to be much harder than she thought, she would not exchange it for anything.
“My advice is to believe in yourself and face your challenges head on – you’ll be much more resilient for it.
“Never stop trying and keep educating yourself and learn from your mistakes to improve on who you are becoming in the journey,” Nakedi added.