CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background to the study
Increasing the number of women entrepreneurs involved in
starting new businesses is critical for a country's long-term economic growth
(GEM 2000). In addition to their economic and income-generating activities,
women assume multi-faceted roles in society, i.e. as breadwinner of a family,
unpaid family workers, service providers in the communities and
mother/care-taker of the family In spite of their important contributions to
socio-economic development; women suffer from various constraints, which
inhibit them from fully realizing their potential for development (UNIDO 2003).
Africa has enormous unexploited potential, especially the
potential of women. Specifically, it pointed out that women comprise one of
Africa's hidden growth reserves, providing most of the region's labor, but
their productivity is hampered by widespread inequality in education as well as
unequal access to land and productive inputs (World Bank report 2000). African
women entrepreneurs follow a path that is in most cases different from
entrepreneurial activities in the developed countries of the West in an attempt
to find an African answer to the applicability of models and theories developed
in other parts of the world. In Africa, Many women tend to be in small sector
microenterprises, mainly in the informal sector. It is inappropriate and
undesirable for Africa to import entrepreneurial techniques wholesale from
developed countries (SAMEN 2005).
In east Africa Women-owned businesses in Kenya are making a
significant contribution to the Kenyan economy. Their businesses account for
about one-half (48 percent) of all micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises
(MSMEs), which contribute around 20 percent to Kenya's GDP. Of the 462,000 jobs
created annually since 2000 in Kenya, 445,000 jobs have come from the informal
sector, where 85 percent of women's businesses are found (IFC 2008) while in
Tanzania Women entrepreneurs still remain disadvantaged compared to their male
counterparts. At 80.7 percent, the labor force participation rate for women in
Tanzania is slightly higher than for men, which is 79.6 percent. Yet, more than
twice as many men than women are in paid jobs, with only 4 percent of women,
compared to 10 percent of men in formal employment. Women tend to predominate
in agriculture and trade while men predominate in manufacturing, construction,
transport and finance (IFC 2008).
However Given a bigger population projection of
10,117,029(NISR; 2008) the government of Rwanda play a key role for
entrepreneurship development for women because women can also perform better in
entrepreneurship activities. Rwanda is world leader in promoting gender
equality, In just over a decade reforms in the political and legislative arena
have placed women's empowerment at the forefront of government's priorities and
granted women in Rwanda sweeping rights, In that aftermath of the genocide,
they were seen as key to the country's recovery and development (IFC 2008),
Rwanda is one of the Sub-Sahara African countries that has
made greater strides in Promoting gender equality and empowerment of women as
evidenced in its achievements: (i)The reduction of poverty among Female Headed
Households (FHH) from 66.3 percent to 60.2 Percent (between 2001 and 2006) and
expected to further decline to 48 percent by 2012; (ii)Gender parity in primary
education; (iii) gender equality in participation in policy making (56 Percent
share of women in parliament); and (v) the institutional structure for gender
Mainstreaming established (Africa Development Bank report 2008). As a result of
these reforms, 41 per cent of Rwandan businesses are now owned by women as
compared for instance with 18 per cent in Congo. They also comprise 58% of
enterprises in informal sector which accounts for 30% of GDP and they make a
significance contribution to the country's economy through their business
activities which are well distributed across sectors (World Bank 2008).
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