Measuring BEE for WOBs
Just in case you missed it, there's a new women's economic empowerment measure, one that has analyzed and compared the factors helping (or in some cases hindering) the growth of high-potential women-owned firms in 17 countries around the world. It's called Gender-GEDI, and you can learn more about it in this Womenabler blogpost.
And, in that same vein, mark your calendars for July 25th, which is when the Multi-lateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank will publish its Women's Entrepreneurial Venture Scope (WEVentureScope), an analysis of womenabling conditions for women's enterprise development in Latin America and the Caribbean. Learn more at the link above or on the 25th of July at weventurescope.com.
We applaud these efforts to shine a light on environmental conditions - legal, programmatic, and social - because we all know that businesses, like plants, grow best in fertile soil! |
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| First Woman of Finance Muriel Siebert |
"I came to New York City from Cleveland with $500 and a Studebaker. I was raised to believe that when good things happen, you owe. If you've made more money than you can spend, shouldn't you give a little bit back?" ~ Muriel Siebert (1932- ), the first woman to gain a seat on the New York Stock Exchange.
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Money, Mentoring and Markets
This issue of our quarterly e-newsletter focuses on three important aspects of women's enterprise development - money, mentoring and markets - and provides links to some exciting new research reports and initiatives. And, as you may notice from our visual alliteration, each of these important avenues to growth are enhanced by helping hands.
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Money
A multitude of new research reports highlights access to capital challenges and successes
Capital. Frequently referred to as the lifeblood of any business, and frequently shown to be harder to for women business owners to access than their male counterpart. Whether that's due to greater "risk aversion" among women, a desire to grow at a more methodical, organic pace, or whether capital markets view investing in women-led enterprises as a riskier proposition is still open to question. But, while the reasons may vary by context, the fact remains that women are less likely to access capital, and have lower levels of capital available to them. There are several new studies out on this issue, as well as a new "Women's Finance Hub" providing a repository of information:
- Vital Voices, with support from the International Finance Corporation and consultative assistance from Womenable, recently published Ready for Growth: Solutions to Increase Access to Finance for Women-Owned Businesses in the Middle East and North Africa. The report summarizes an 8-country survey conducted among members of Vital Voices' MENA Businesswomen's Network, finding that members are ambitious, owners of growth-oriented businesses, and have relationships with financial institutions - but that they are not accessing external finance. High interest rates, a lack of collateral, and complicated processes were cited as the most critical barriers.
- Recent research also investigates the environment for women business owners seeking equity capital. New research from the SBA's Office of Advocacy and from the Center for Venture Research looks at access to venture and angel capital, respectively. Read more about the findings of these studies in this recent Womenabler blogpost.
- The International Finance Corporation has recently spearheaded the launch of a "Women's Finance Hub," a web portal providing a repository of research, reference links, and the chance for womenablers and finance providers to communicate and share information. The web portal is housed on smefinanceforum.org and is underpinned by Development Gateway's zunia.org design platform.
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Mentoring Programs provide a helping hand to growth-oriented women entrepreneurs While money makes the world go 'round, it can often be the case that who you know can matter as much as what you know. That's where mentors come in.
Two new education and mentoring initiatives were recently announced, which we knew you'd all want to know more about:
- Stealing a page from a successful program in Latin America, the Clinton Global Initiative recently announced their support for a new educational and e-mentoring platform in the US. Called American DreamBuilder, the effort will offer 12 self-paced education modules for women wishing to start a business, which will include videos and online feedback. What's missing? The face-to-face peer support and counseling that a bricks-and-mortar organization like a Women's Business Center can provide. Perhaps a partnership is in order?
- Further up the business continuum, Vital Voices has announced the launch of VV Grow, a year-long fellowship program for growth-oriented women business owners globally that matches online learning with mentoring and peer learning. Learn more at vitalvoices.org.
Of course, some of the best mentoring women business owners will find is that from their fellow women entrepreneurs. Several chapters of the National Association of Women Business Owners in the US (such as Orange County CA) have mentoring initiatives, as do several Women's Business Centers (such as WBDC in Chicago). Here's to the helping hand and heart that mentors can provide!
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Markets
Helping women business owners beat a path to corporate, government and international clients For businesses to increase sales, they either have to sell more products or services to existing customers, or expand the number or type of clients. Accessing new markets can be complex, but there are some new efforts underway to help.
- Corporate markets: Selling goods and services to large corporations can be a daunting endeavor, but WBENC in the US and WEConnect International globally can make it easier. WEConnect just announced a Supplier Diversity and Inclusion Code of Conduct to provide a roadmap for large corporations who may wish to establish or improve their supplier diversity efforts. The tenets of the code can be downloaded and read HERE.
- Global markets: Doing business internationally offers a different set of challenges. A new research study from APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) and the Asia Foundation surveys women business owners in Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, uncovering many of the constraints women face in doing business internationally, and offering policy and programmatic recommendations - including building women business association capacity, improving access to export finance, and improving use of technology. Learn more about the report, Access to Trade and Growth of Women's SMEs in APEC Developing Economies, and download it at the link above.
- Government markets: American Express OPEN, the US Small Business Administration, and Women Impacting Public Policy recently announced the launch of ChallengeHER, an educational roadshow bringing tools, tips and connections to interested women business owners around the country. Learn more about it HERE.
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Thanks as always for your interest and attention. To keep up with other womenabling news of interest in between our quarterly e-newsletters, please connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter, and "like" us on Facebook! And if there are others whom you feel would benefit from the information in this newsletter, please forward it to your colleagues.
Sincerely, |
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