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Women Entrepreneurship And Empowerment

Feature Article Women Entrepreneurship And Empowerment
JUN 11, 2018 LISTEN

Many strategies have been pursued to give women a voice and place in society. One of such strategies is Women Entrepreneurship and management of small businesses. Women Entrepreneurs had a summit recently to deliberate on the nature and form for which entrepreneurship undertaken by them should take. Innovative entrepreneurship by women is a tool for empowerment. A move by women to contribute to the development of the state through the addition of value to their produce and the management of small businesses is right. The need to have women run and control resources and business units have been expected decades ago. Such a gathering or summit is an absolutely positive undertaking as it could engender women in business to take formal place in society and contribute to the development of the state without being relegated to the background as it happened some centuries.

The taking of entrepreneurial activities in both formal and informal sectors is a positive endeavour and must be supported. The support to be given to women must be done on purpose to promote and give women the ability to carry out their business activities. Such a support is highly wanted and should not be skewed to those in formal sectors alone.

In connection of the need to support these Women Entrepreneurs, the President announced a 50% allotment of funds from MASLOC to be given to them. This is a commendable idea and a step in the right direction. The need to design and implement such an affirmative action is in order with global goals often called the Sustainable Development Goals - SDGs set for nations by the United Nations.

A policy to push women in business massively should not target those in formal establishments alone but integrate those in the informal sectors with modules purposely designed for them. It must focus on all and capture everyone so that the others will not be left out in the development process. Women need empowerment which the state has a role to play in ensuring that they are uplifted from a poorer background to a higher ground where they can put their feet on the grounds of ownership and control of resources and small businesses.

Women Entrepreneurs need support in many endeavours and so a state assistance in developing their entrepreneurial skills and polishing their skills is a necessity. Women need more of the opportunities that are available to their men counterparts. The development of a state does not depend solely on the contributions of men and relegating women to the kitchen as was done in the ancient world.

A support in entrepreneurship to women is a coercive tool that can empower them and move them from their precarious living. Women have been denied of many rights including the right to credit and funds to engage in their personalised ventures. Many financial institutions have the fear to lend to women. As such, women have been excluded from most of the formal financial intermediation in lending to deficit units by financial institutions. Therefore, the state needs to channel some resources to the design and implementation of small loans schemes to them.

Women need financial security and economic Survival. They need support to put their economic acts together and win the battle for their well living and ultimately their welfare. Women need financial inclusion and empowerment. The use of MASLOC to financially push women greatly is a viable financial decision-making.

Emmanuel Kwabena Wucharey
[email protected]

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