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Small, medium and micro enterprises are the main instruments of job creation. The emergence and growth of women entrepreneurs is a global trend, with many countries working to stimulate women’s entrepreneurship development (WED) as a means to bolster economies. Women’s full participation in the economy and society contributes directly to economic growth and prosperity.
In most countries of the region, the Small and Medium Entreprise (SME) sector is developing rapidly and creating new employment opportunities. In conditions of economic crisis, SMEs are becoming the main source of income for many women in the region as many women engage in business start-ups to provide support for their families. Their performance as entrepreneurs strongly depends on the effectiveness if the business environment in the country.
At the same time business environment in most of the countries of the region is characterized by serious deficiencies, including low levels of capacity in tax administration; lack of clarity and predictability of government economic policy; high levels of corruption; difficult access to investment project financing; macroeconomic instability; unsatisfactory customs and foreign trade regulation; a high impact of crime on business development; and weak judicial and economic disputes resolution systems.
Moreover without doubt women entrepreneurs face other difficulties, many of which are gender specific. Though it is important to mention that many obstacles faced by entrepreneurs are universal, women entrepreneurs tend to face these difficulties to a greater degree that men. The chief barriers include a lack of access to information, limited access to finance for business start-up, unfavorable tax policies, and the low quality of administrative procedures.
More specifically, the lack of any official state support for women entrepreneurship, the absence of special programmes for the development of women’s entrepreneurship impede its development.
The ILO-WED Programme works on enhancing economic opportunities for women by carrying out affirmative actions in support of women starting, formalizing and growing their enterprises, and by mainstreaming gender equality issues into the ILO's work in enterprise development. This approach to WED is highlighted in the ILO WED Strategy that was adopted by the Governing Body in March, 2008.
Also the ILOs work in Women’s Entrepreneurship Development is directly concerned with the first and third Millennium Development Goals – reducing poverty and promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women.
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