Challenges & Opportunities for Zambian Women Entrepreneurs

JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION

Challenges and Opportunities for Zambian Women Entrepreneurs Gabriel Konayuma

Abstract

Very little has been written about women entrepreneurs in Zambia. Notable studies have been those by Walker (1998:10) focusing on the changes and effects of the macro-economic policy as it relates to indigenous female entrepreneurs in Zambia in the agricultural sector. In another study, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) (2003:xv) sought to identify ways in which the government, the ILO, donors, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and the private sector could improve the prospects for women's entrepreneurship in Zambia and enhance the contribution of women entrepreneurs to the creation of meaningful and sustainable employment opportunities and poverty reduction.

Women are active participants in the small and micro enterprises (SME) sector throughout the world, especially those running informal enterprises. However, research has shown that women entrepreneurs face particular socio-cultural, educational and technical constraints to starting, and growing their own enterprises (International Labour Organisation, 2003:1)

This paper focuses on enhancing the business management of women entrepreneurs so that they have equal opportunities as their male counterparts in contributing to the socioeconomic development of Zambia. The study also seeks to provide policy recommendations for the further development of entrepreneurship in general and women’s entrepreneurship in Zambia in particular. Currently there is lack of a strong policy framework that supports the growth of an entrepreneurial culture among Zambians and growth of women’s entrepreneurship development.

Significance of the Study

By examining the challenges and opportunities of women entrepreneurs in Zambia, the study will: 1.

Suggest solutions to various challenges faced by women entrepreneurs. This may lead to improvements in the management practice particularly among women entrepreneurs

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in Zambia as it relates to entrepreneurship development; 2.

Influence indirectly the nature of practices, industries and business support services that are linked to entrepreneurship;

3.

Propose guidelines to the policy framework for entrepreneurship as it affects women entrepreneurs;

4.

Add to the body of knowledge of entrepreneurship development in Zambia that can be used by academicians, researchers, non-governmental organisations, private sector, entrepreneurs and policy makers.

Aim of the Study

The aim of the study is to investigate the challenges and opportunities faced by women entrepreneurs in Zambia and establish the effects on business management in general and entrepreneurship development in particular.

Objective of the Study

The objective of this study is to:

Identify the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats faced by women entrepreneurs in Zambia;

Problem Statement

Women entrepreneurs are an emerging force in Zambia’s economy. However, they face a number of challenges such as inadequate access to start-up capital in form of loans, inadequate policies supportive of women’s entrepreneurship development and cultural norms that are not supportive of women entrepreneurs. These challenges impede the full potential of women entrepreneurs in their businesses. While some efforts have been made by policy makers, women’s associations, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders to address this concern, there is still a lot that needs to be done to ensure that women entrepreneurs contribute fully to the national economy. In addition women entrepreneurs have a number of opportunities which they are not fully taking advantage of such as women associations, conferences and

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international markets. The purpose of this study is to investigate the challenges and opportunities faced by Zambian women entrepreneurs in order to ensure that they manage their enterprises better to result in improved and competitive enterprises.

Literature Review Benefits of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship has a lot of benefits. These benefits can be broken down at national, societal and individual levels. The figure below shows these benefits. In Zambia, entrepreneurship has proved to be beneficial to individuals, society and the nation. For example, Euro Africa Coach Services which runs bus services between Lusaka and the Copperbelt provinces, has created job opportunities for some Zambians and created a competitive environment in the transport sector due to their efficient services. Society has benefited because traders from the Copperbelt can travel to Lusaka, buy their goods and return to the Copperbelt on the same day. Entrepreneurship Development in Zambia

Entrepreneurship in Zambia has arisen due to a number of factors. Some have started enterprises due to retrenchments as a consequence of privatisation of parastatal firms between 1992 and 1999. Others have become entrepreneurs to supplement their incomes in order to meet family budget needs. A number of government ministries have policies that support entrepreneurship development. These include the Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Policy, the Youth Policy, the Commercial, Trade and Industrial Policy and the Labour and Social Security Policy.

Before 1991, small-scale business owners were actively discouraged due to socialist economic management with the government playing a leading role in stimulating economic activities. However, a sharp decline in the copper price, Zambia’s most important export product between 1973 and 1975 coupled with a rise in oil prices and other imports led to a more active encouragement of small-scale entrepreneurs.

Some of the challenges that entrepreneurship development has had in Zambia include: entrepreneurs lacking managerial skills, low levels of consumer demand, competition from low entry barriers given to foreign investors and lack of capital (Frese, 2000:32-33). Challenges and Opportunities for Zambian Women Entrepreneurs

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Kombe (2000:62–67) identifies culture, education, mistrust, dishonesty, resources, bank lending policies, technological capabilities, lack of protectionist policies as some of the barriers that affect entrepreneurship development in Zambia.

It can be noted that entrepreneurship development has not been easy. However some entrepreneurs both female and male have weathered the storm and become successful by adopting sound business practices and having a resolute desire to succeed.

Women Entrepreneurs

Women’s entrepreneurship needs to be studied for two main reasons. The first reason is that women’s entrepreneurship has been recognised during the last decade as an important untapped source of economic growth. Secondly, the topic of women entrepreneurship has been largely neglected both in society in general and in the social sciences (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2004:5). There is need to review existing literature as it relates to the challenges and opportunities faced by women entrepreneurs in the global scene, Africa and Zambia.

Nieman et al. (2006:34) estimates that between 80 percent of the workforce of developing nations are in the informal sector. Street vendors constitute a significant share of this workforce. In Africa, especially, women represent the majority of these vendors because they often lack the necessary technical skills to do much else in the informal sector. Women entrepreneurs seem to be the most disadvantaged group. Until recently a woman could not pursue a business activity without taking her husband or a male family member along.

In Zambia, a number of entrepreneurs are in the informal sector. Females are in the majority as informal sector operators. The table below shows the distribution. Table 1 Proportion of Persons Aged 12 years and Above Who Were Employed in the Informal Sector by Sex, Rural/Urban, Stratum and Province, Zambia, 2002-2003

Source: (Central Statistical Office, 2004:66) Residence/Stratum/Province All Zambia Rural Urban

Both sexes

Male

Female

83 93 56

76 89 47

91 96 71

Total number of employed persons 3,517,371 2,571,153 946,218

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Types of women entrepreneurs

Women entrepreneurs may be grouped in four broad types. These are: traditional, innovative, domestic and radical.

Traditional women business owners are highly committed to entrepreneurial ideas, as well as to conventional gender roles. Innovative women business owners are highly committed to entrepreneurial ideas but not to traditional gender roles. Domestic women business owners are not committed to entrepreneurial ideas but have a high attachment to entrepreneurial ideas or to traditional gender roles. Radical women business owners have little commitment to entrepreneurial ideas or to traditional gender roles; these women cannot be seen as entrepreneurial venture seekers. They are usually young, without children and well educated, but have limited work experience (Nieman et al., 2006:35).

In Zambia, women entrepreneurs are mainly in the categories of traditional and innovative. For the traditional category, women entrepreneurs have started businesses because of economic hardships at home. This contributes to the push factor in the economy. In Lusaka and Copperbelt provinces, a number of women have started enterprises to earn income due to retrenchments of their spouses. The innovative women entrepreneurs are motivated by limited career progression in large firms. They are ambitious and place a high priority on their businesses.

There are various motivations for becoming an entrepreneur. There are basically push and pull factors. Push factors are factors that are there due to necessity. Examples are unemployment, insecurity, disagreement with management and lack of alternatives. Pull factors are opportunity driven. One may have a desire for personal development, independence, achievement, recognition and personal wealth.

Female entrepreneurs differ from male entrepreneurs in terms of motivation, business skills, and occupational backgrounds (Hisrich et al., 2005:69). A comparison of female and male entrepreneurs is listed in the table below. A significantly large number of women operate as portfolio entrepreneurs, preferring to grow more than one enterprise rather than expanding an Challenges and Opportunities for Zambian Women Entrepreneurs

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existing one. In Lusaka, Zambia there is a lodge owner (female entrepreneur) running a plant nursery business along her main business line. Another female entrepreneur runs a hair saloon and also undertakes media consultancies. Women entrepreneurs often have a clearly articulated business logic and marketing strategy underpinning their multiple enterprise strategies. In developing countries, more research has been carried out on women in the informal economy, and to date little is known about women in growth-oriented enterprises (Finnegan, 2003:2-3). This illustrates the need for a study on women operating formal enterprises and why women prefer a diversified approach to running enterprises. It is worth investigating why many women entrepreneurs operate their “multiple” enterprises in feminised sectors (Finnegan, 2003:4). Challenges Faced By Women Entrepreneurs in Zambia

An ILO study on Zambian women entrepreneurs identified the following challenges faced by women entrepreneurs: lack of access to start-up capital, lack of business training/skills and experience, bureaucratic business registration systems and negative attitudes by society towards women in business (International Labour Organisation, 2003:xvii). As this study was conducted in 2002, it is necessary to investigate whether these challenges still exist, or whether they have been minimised or they have become worse. The ILO study was conducted at a time Zambia was formulating and implementing a Transitional Development Plan. The ILO study among many findings found that “76 per cent of women involved in enterprise are in the age category of 20-40. This places heavy reproductive and child care responsibilities on them. These responsibilities are often in competition and conflict with the demands of the women’s businesses. It was also discovered that the majority (77 per cent) of the women in enterprise in Zambia have high education levels ranging from ‘O’ Level to university education “which represents a significant improvement in comparison with women in the informal sector” (Chisala, 2002:1). From this finding it can be noted that the age group of women are those in the critical stage of their lives where they are setting goals and planning for later life (after becoming 40 years). They are vibrant and can learn a lot of new skills, yet the demands on their time as parents and spouses places a lot of demands on their businesses. They require training in management with emphasis on time management, stress management, change management and project management. This training can be done after conducting a training needs analysis. It’s advisable to use entrepreneurs that have undergone

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the experiences of this age group would help in ensuring that the training received is very practical.

Masebo (2006:1) has noted that disabilities and the HIV/AIDS pandemic deprive women of an opportunity to contribute towards national economic development. Those living with HIV/AIDS are hindered from growing their businesses. HIV/AIDS impacts business performance as the business owner may need to take time off thus reducing on business profitability and supervision of the business. Employees also in the business may also fall ill due to HIV/AIDS and other illnesses. This will have a negative impact on the business when the employee(s) are on medical leave. Should the business owner relieve them of their duties and employ someone else? Would it be ethical for the business owner to demand HIV/AIDS tests for new employees? What about the issue of providing a medical scheme for all employees that would include providing free ARVs for employees that have HIV/AIDS.? What does business ethics suggest? Job discrimination on health grounds is an ethical issue. Velasquez (2004:390) states that “a helpful framework for analysing different forms of discrimination can be constructed by distinguishing the extent to which a discriminatory act is intentional and isolated (or non-instutionalised) and the extent to which it is unintentional and institutionalised”. Discrimination in any form is undesirable. Employees should not be discriminated against because they are unwell.

Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs in Zambia

In Zambia, women face the following opportunities: agriculture, mining, tourism and education. For tourism there is a Visit Zambia 2006 Campaign. This campaign seeks to:  

Brand Zambia as home of the Victoria Falls, Increase international tourists arrivals by 20 per cent per annum during the period of the campaign with additional 400, 000 tourists by 2010.



Stimulate domestic tourism visitor levels to at least 50% of international arrivals by the year 2010 (Lumpa, 2005:4).

The Visit Zambia campaign provides opportunities for tour operators and those that provide goods and support services. More specifically tourism sub sectors where investments are required include: accommodation, restaurants, tourism transport, adventure activities,


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meetings, conferences, wildfire tourism, museums, sports tourism, crafts and cultural/ethno tourism and tourism entertainment (Tourism News, 2005:14). This Visit Zambia campaign is an opportunity for women entrepreneurs to position their enterprises so that they fully exploit such businesses. In addition there is a Tourism Credit Fund that is used to support those engaged in tourism to improve their businesses. The ‘Buy Zambian campaign’ also presents opportunities for women entrepreneurs to improve their product offerings and services. The campaign seeks to encourage Zambians to buy Zambian products and services. The Commercial, Trade and Industrial policy has an objective of promoting the consumption of locally produced goods and services in order to increase domestic demand for Zambian goods and services. The policy prescriptions for this policy objective are “encouraging the branding of locally produced goods and services and maintaining support for the Buy Zambia Campaign, in order to ensure that locally manufactured goods and services compete favourably in the domestic market, while becoming competitive on the international markets” (Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, 2005:33). Women entrepreneurs can take advantage of this campaign by producing quality and affordable products that can compete favourably with imported products. They must correctly identify their target market and make product offerings with the right price. This needs to be supported by well designed promotions and having the right environment (place) for the product or service offerings.

The Citizens Economic Empowerment is another opportunity available to entrepreneurs. The objectives of this reform programme is to unlock the growth potential of citizens through business development support and empowerment initiatives (Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, 2005:38). This programme can be taken advantage of by women entrepreneurs to ensure that they benefit from the funds available for entrepreneurs to develop their businesses.

Other opportunities are in services, agriculture, mining, energy, manufacturing and construction. Service opportunities range from business services (advertising, market research, printing and publishing, consultancy, etc) communication (telecommunications, courier services) educational services (education and training), health services, transport (air, road, customs and freight forwarding), construction and engineering services, financial services (insurance, banking, asset management), recreational, entertainment and sporting services,

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energy (generation and transmission of electricity; supply of fuels and lubricants), agriculture, manufacturing and mining (technical services and management consultancy).

Mining offers many opportunities to women entrepreneurs. There are some support organisations for women entrepreneurs in mining. Examples are Women in Mining. In mining a deliberate program needs to be put in place to train Zambian entrepreneurs to appreciate the different minerals that can be used in various industries. Zambian businesses must be developed with skills to mine, cut and polish in the case of marble and granite, and process these minerals to the quality that meets export standards thereby opening an opportunity to earn foreign exchange in addition to servicing the domestic market (Zambia Investment Centre, 2006:1).

Women entrepreneurs can benefit from providing services domestically and internationally. The Times of Zambia (2006:1) observes that “Services account for at least 50 per cent of Gross Domestic Product in most developing countries. The growth of the service sector, especially through export promotion, can thus have a significant impact on economic growth, employment creation and poverty alleviation, thereby contributing to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. As the service sector employs more women than any other sector, women entrepreneurs are likely to benefit from employment creation in the service sector”.

Women entrepreneurs need to possess skills of opportunity evaluation in order to make the most of the opportunities above. Nieman et al. (2006:77-78) propose the following criteria in screening opportunities: “industry and market issues, economics, harvest issues, management team, fatal flaw issues, personal criteria and strategic differentiation”. Strategic differentiation refers to how a venture positions itself to take advantage of the given market conditions to its benefit, while at the same time differing from the competitors in terms of the value added to consumers (Nieman et al, 2006:80). For women entrepreneurs to practice good opportunity evaluation skills they need to have a good educational background, networking and good mentors. In short they need to overcome the challenges identified above.

It needs to be noted that if these opportunities are not seized at the right time, they may be missed for ever. Currently, the local currency in Zambia has appreciated against major trading international currencies. This is both a challenge and opportunity. For exporters it is a Challenges and Opportunities for Zambian Women Entrepreneurs

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challenge, because it means the foreign exchange sales earn them less local currency. For importers it is an opportunity as they need less local currency to import items. It is important for women entrepreneurs to be armed with skills at identifying the right opportunities at the right time. They are a lot of opportunities available to women. The danger lies in women entrepreneurs going for the same or similar opportunities while other profitable opportunities go begging. Banda (2004:2) advises that: “Women entrepreneurship development programmes must cover all aspects not only for establishment and running of enterprises, but also for development of their entrepreneurial and managerial competencies”.

Women entrepreneurs can also take advantage of organisations such as Women Entrepreneurs Development Association of Zambia (WEDAZ), Zambia Federation of Association of Women in Business (ZAFWIB), Small Enterprises Development Board (SEDB), Women Finance Cooperative of Zambia and Lusaka District Business Association. SEDB formulates coordinates and implements policies and programs for promoting and developing micro and small enterprises. It also develops provides marketing support services to micro and small enterprises and develops entrepreneurship in Zambia (Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, 2006:1). Women Finance Co-operative of Zambia economically empowers all micro and small-scale women entrepreneurs in Zambia through provision of financial services, training, advocacy and networking.

Methodology This study largely uses the inductive approach with the deductive approach also used to collect and analyse data. The inductive approach has been selected in preference to the deductive approach where it is difficult to define the control groups. Within the inductive approach a questionnaire is used as it is most suitable for this type of study.

Target Population

The target population in the research is made up of all potential participants that form the group to be studied. In this study the target population is the women entrepreneurs with registered business in the Lusaka Province of Zambia. A total of 38 out of 40 women entrepreneurs included in the sample responded to the questionnaire. This represents a response rate of 95

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percent. Three out of the 40, were not included in the data analysis. Of the three, two of them were for enterprises that were not registered and one was not included as it was incomplete. Two questionnaires were not completed by the respondents. This left the complete questionnaires to 35 (i.e. 70 percent of the sample). For organisations a total of 9 out of 10 included in the sample responded to the questionnaire. This represents 90 percent of the sample.

Sampling

Sampling is the process of selecting a fractional part of the whole relevant group or population. Sampling is of two broad types – probability and non-probability. With probability sampling, the likelihood of any one member or element of the population being selected is known. If there are a hundred guest houses and twenty hotels, the odds of selecting one hotel as part of the sample is 20:100 or 1/5. In non-probability sampling, the exact numbers of elements in the population are unknown with the result that the likelihood of selecting any one member of the population is not known (Mancosa, 2003:74-76). Coldwell and Herbst (2004:79) state that the advantage of the probability sample is that, given that the sampling frame is complete and the samples are adequate, it is unbiased and representative of the population. For non-probability sampling, it is not possible to assess whether the sample is representative of the specific population or not.

This research will use probability sampling as the exact number of elements in the population is known.

The Research Instrument

A research instrument is used to collect data. The two most commonly used primary data collection methods are the questionnaire and the interview. These data collection instruments enable the researcher to collect answers for their research questions from their subjects.

The questionnaire used in this study is the Likert-style rating scale. The scale seeks to measure how strongly respondents feel on the challenges and opportunities faced by women entrepreneurs. The questionnaires utilises both positive and negative statements to ensure that respondents read each statement carefully before circling their response. This type of Challenges and Opportunities for Zambian Women Entrepreneurs

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questionnaire was chosen to enable respondents make quick choices and also because it is simpler to code and analyse. Closed questions or statements have been used to avoid differences in interpretation.

The Questionnaire Items

Questionnaire items are made up from a question and scale. The question may be in question or statement form. The scale is used to capture the respondent’s opinion/response to the question. The questionnaire used has a 5-point scale with the anchors: strongly disagree, disagree, uncertain, agree, and strongly agree. The questionnaire uses a Likert scale that “measures on a continuum

how

strongly

a

respondent

agrees

or

disagrees

on

n

item/phrase”

(Hendricks, 2003:2).

Pilot Study

A pilot study was done on 10% of the sample size. This size is considered adequate information on the validity and reliability of the questionnaire. No adjustments were deemed necessary on the original questionnaire.

Data Analysis

Data analysis will be done on the collected data. The purpose of analysis is to give some meaning from the collected raw data. The data is analysed using SPSS (statistical analysis software) for both data entry and editing. The questionnaires from the field work are consequently edited, coded and then entered on to the computer. As data is entered it is checked for inconsistencies and errors. Thereafter it is converted to a spreadsheet package (Microsoft Excel) for labelling and further cleaning.

Presentation of Findings

The study focuses on the challenges and opportunities of Zambian women entrepreneurs. Consequently, the questionnaire was designed to obtain the views of women entrepreneurs, policy makers and women business associations. The questionnaire was meant to help women entrepreneurs reflect on their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

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Presentation of Research Findings

The presentation of findings focuses on analysis of the interview question: 

What opportunities and threats do women entrepreneurs face?

Additional questions/statements were used to obtain data from the respondents. These questions are: (i)

Women Entrepreneurship plays a key role in a nation’s development.

(ii)

You went into business because you were unemployed.

(iii)

You went into business because you were dissatisfied with your job.

(iv)

You went into business because you had a desire for personal development.

(v)

HIV/AIDS poses a real threat to the business growth of women entrepreneurs.

(vi)

Associations such as Women Entrepreneurs Development Association of Zambia (WEDAZ) offer business opportunities and support.

(vii)

Associations such as Zambia Federation of Associations of Women In Business (ZAFWIB) offer business opportunities and support.

(i)

Women Entrepreneurship plays a key role in a nation’s development. Figure 1

Role of Entrepreneurship to Development

30 28 26 24 22 20 18

Number of Respondents

16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

Respondent's Response


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From figure 1 it can be seen that 94 percent of the respondents strongly agreed or agreed that women entrepreneurship plays a key role in a nation’s economic development. A total of 6 percent of the respondents strongly disagreed with the statement.

Hypothesis Testing Table Cross-tabulation chi-square test on the role of women entrepreneurship in national development and desire for personal development.

Pearson Chi-Square Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases

Value 10.08 7.665 3.266 35

Df 4 4 1

Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) 0.039 0.105 0.071

The researcher formulated a hypothesis that the role women entrepreneurship plays in national economic development had no relationship with women entrepreneurs going into business because of a desire for personal development. From the computations in Table 2 for the null hypothesis test, the computed test is 0.039, the null hypothesis is rejected and conclude that the role women entrepreneurship plays in national economic development has a relationship with women entrepreneurs going into business because of desire for personal development.

Table 3 Cross-tabulation chi-square test for role of women entrepreneurship in economic development and job dissatisfaction.


Value 23.636 14.575 0.2168 35

df 8 8 1

Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) 0.003 0.068 0.641

The researcher formulated a hypothesis that the role women entrepreneurship plays in national economic development had no relationship with women entrepreneurs going into business because of job dissatisfaction. From the computations in Table 3 for the null hypothesis test, the computed test is 0.003, the null hypothesis is rejected and conclude that the role women entrepreneurship plays in national economic development has a relationship with women entrepreneurs going into business because of job dissatisfaction.

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Table 4

Cross-tabulation chi-square test for the role of women entrepreneurship in economic development and the business support and opportunities offered by women business associations.


Value 12.747 10.492 6.5546 35

df 6 6 1

Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) 0.047 0.105 0.01

The researcher formulated a hypothesis that the role women entrepreneurship plays in national economic development had no relationship with women entrepreneurs going into business because of job dissatisfaction. From the computations in Table 4 for the null hypothesis test, the computed test is 0.047, the null hypothesis is rejected and conclude that the role women entrepreneurship plays in national economic development has a relationship with women entrepreneurs going into business because of job dissatisfaction.

Table 5

Cross-tabulation chi-square test of the role of women entrepreneurship to economic development and the usefulness of the Gender Policy


Value 19.227 14.208 2.9438 35

df 8 8 1

Asymp. Sig. (2sided) 0.014 0.076 0.086

The researcher formulated a hypothesis that the role women entrepreneurship plays in national economic development had no relationship with the usefulness of the national Gender Policy in ensuring that women entrepreneurs have equal opportunities as their male counterparts in business. From the computations in Table 5 for the null hypothesis test, the computed test is 0.014, the null hypothesis is rejected and conclude that the role women entrepreneurship plays in national economic development has a relationship with the usefulness of the national Gender Policy in ensuring that women entrepreneurs have equal opportunities as their male counterparts in business.


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(ii)

You went into business because you were unemployed.

Figure 2

Unemployment as a reason for going into business

16

14

12

Number of Respondets

10

8

6 4

2 0 Strongly disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

Unemployment and entrepreneurship

Figure 2 shows that 29 percent of the respondents strongly agreed or agreed that women entrepreneurs went into business because they were unemployed. A total of 71 percent of the respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement.

Hypothesis Testing Table 6

Cross-tabulation chi-square test of unemployment as a reason for starting business and challenge of information in business.


Value 13.889 14.256 2.7828 35

df 6 6 1

Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) 0.031 0.027 0.095

The researcher formulated a hypothesis that the unemployment as a reason for women entrepreneurs going into business had no relationship with the challenge of information in business. From the computations in Table 6 for the null hypothesis test, the computed test is 0.031, the null hypothesis is rejected and conclude that unemployment as a reason for women entrepreneurs going into business has a relationship with the challenge of information in business.

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(iii)

You went into business because you were dissatisfied with your job. Figure 3 Job dissatisfaction as a reason for starting business 14

12

10


8

6

4

2 0 Strongly disagree

Uncertain Disagree

Strongly agree Agree


From figure 3 it can be seen that 48.5 percent of the respondents agreed and strongly agreed that women entrepreneurs go into business because they are dissatisfied with their jobs. A total of 48.5 percent disagreed and strongly disagreed with the statement while 3 percent were uncertain.

Hypothesis testing Table 7

Cross-tabulation chi-square test of unemployment as a reason for starting business and challenge of information in business


Value 15.5 12.155 0.275 35

Df 8 8 1

Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) 0.05 0.14 0.6

The researcher formulated a hypothesis that the job dissatisfaction as a reason for women entrepreneurs going into business had no relationship with personal development as a reason for women entrepreneurs going into business. From the computations in Table 7 for the null hypothesis test, the computed test is 0.05, the null hypothesis is rejected and conclude that job dissatisfaction as a reason for women entrepreneurs going into business has a relationship with personal development.


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(iv)


Figure 4 Personal development as a reason for starting business 30 28 26 24 22 20 18


16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree


Figure 4 shows that 91 percent of the respondents agree and strongly agree that women entrepreneurs go into business because they have a desire for personal growth. A total of 9 percent strongly disagree with the statement. Hypothesis Testing Table 8 Cross-tabulation chi-square test personal development as a reason for going into business and available business support.


Value 16.816 10.071 4.7276 35

df 8 8 1

Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) 0.03 0.26 0.03

The researcher formulated a hypothesis that the desire for personal development as a reason for women entrepreneurs going into business had no relationship with available business support for women entrepreneurs. From the computations in Table 8 for the null hypothesis test, the computed test is 0.03, the null hypothesis is rejected and conclude that the desire for personal development as a reason for women entrepreneurs going into business has a relationship with available business support for women entrepreneurs.

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(v)

HIV/AIDS poses a real threat to the business growth of women entrepreneurs. Figure 5 Threat of AIDS to business 20 18 16 14


12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Strongly disagree

Uncertain

Disagree



From figure 5 it can be seen that 91 percent of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that HIV/AIDS was a real threat to the business growth of women entrepreneurs. A total of 6 percent disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement while 3 percent were uncertain. (vi)

Associations such as Women Entrepreneurs Development Association of Zambia (WEDAZ) offer business opportunities and support. Figure 6 Association business support (WEDAZ) 20 18 16 14


12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Strongly disagree Disagree

Uncertain


Respondents Respnse

Figure 6 shows that 60 percent of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that Women Entrepreneurs Development Association of Zambia (WEDAZ) offered business opportunities and support to women entrepreneurs. 14 percent disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement while 26 percent were uncertain. Challenges and Opportunities for Zambian Women Entrepreneurs

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Hypothesis Testing Table 9

Cross-tabulation chi-square test of personal development and association business support.


Value 17.667 18.572 1.1519 35

Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) 0.02 0.02 0.28

df 8 8 1

The researcher formulated a hypothesis that the desire for personal development as a reason for women entrepreneurs going into business had no relationship with business support for women entrepreneurs from business associations. From the computations in Table 9 for the null hypothesis test, the computed test is 0.02, the null hypothesis is rejected and conclude that the desire for personal development as a reason for women entrepreneurs going into business has a relationship with available business support for women entrepreneurs.

(i)

Associations such as Zambia Federation for Associations of Women In Business (ZAFWIB) offer business opportunities and support. Figure 7 Association business support (ZFAWIB) 20 18 16 14


12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Disagree

Uncertain

Agree

Strongly agree

Respondents Response

Figure 7 shows that 60 percent of the respondents agree or strongly agree that Zambia Association of Federation of Women in Business offers business opportunities and support to women entrepreneurs. A total of 6 percent disagreed with the statement while 34 percent are undecided.

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Hypothesis Testing Table 10 Cross-tabulation chi-square test for association business support and gender policy support.


Value 22.252 19.376 6.4285 35

df 12 12 1

Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) 0.03 0.08 0.01

The researcher formulated a hypothesis that gender policy support for women entrepreneurs had no relationship with business support for women entrepreneurs from business associations. From the computations in Table 10 for the null hypothesis test, the computed test is 0.03, the null hypothesis is rejected and conclude that gender policy support for women entrepreneurs has a relationship with available business support for women entrepreneurs. Discussion of Findings

The discussion of findings focuses on the interview question: 

What opportunities and threats do women entrepreneurs face?

(i)

Women Entrepreneurship plays a key role in a nation’s development

Most respondents (94 percent) agreed or strongly agreed that women entrepreneurship plays a key role in a nation’s development. This view could be attributed to women realising that entrepreneurship is a means to wealth creation that promotes national development. Women become entrepreneurs due to a desire for personal development and being dissatisfied with their current jobs. In the literature review it was noted that entrepreneurship initiates change in the structure of business and society leading to growth that allows more wealth to be divided by the various participants (Hisrich et al., 2005:69). The role of women entrepreneurs in national development needs to be taken very seriously by developing nations. This view is supported by Annan (2003:1) who states that “there is no effective development strategy in which women do not play a central role”.

Those that strongly disagreed (6 percent) could have done so as they felt that their enterprises are not really performing well. Others could have felt that their enterprises are just pastimes


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and could not really contribute to national development. It is also possible that some respondents could not have fully understood the importance of the role that their enterprises played in national development.

(ii)

You went into business because you are unemployed

Only 29 percent strongly agreed or agreed that women entrepreneurs went into business because they are unemployed. Some of those in this category had been retrenched after downsizing of some companies after privatision of firms in Zambia that started in 1992.

A total of 71 percent disagreed or strongly disagreed that women entrepreneurs went into business because they are unemployed. This implies that some women are involved in entrepreneurial ventures to supplement income in their jobs. Thus most of the respondents interviewed can be categorised as being entrepreneurs due to pull factors i.e. a desire for personal development, independence and personal wealth. Some of the entrepreneurs interviewed indicated that they needed to be sure of the viability of their businesses before they could leave their jobs to concentrate on their businesses.

(iii)

You went into business because you are dissatisfied with your job.

An equal number of respondents (48.5 percent) both agreed/strongly agreed and disagreed/strongly disagreed that they went into business because they are dissatisfied with their jobs. Considering those that disagreed or strongly disagreed, it can be noted job dissatisfaction does not always lead to women becoming entrepreneurs. Some may choose to remain in their jobs despite being dissatisfied due to few jobs in the market and a guaranteed source of income. Those that are uncertain (3 percent) could be unclear on how to assess whether they are dissatisfied with their jobs.

For those that agreed or strongly agreed with the statement it implies that job dissatisfaction is a big factor that leads to women starting enterprises. In this case the motivation for becoming an entrepreneur is a push factor.

(iv)


Most respondents (91 percent) agreed or strongly agreed that they went into business because they had a desire for personal development. This indicates that women entrepreneurs are driven by opportunity (pull factors) to become entrepreneurs. Personal development is enhanced in an

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environment where there is adequate business support for women entrepreneurs. Those that disagreed or strongly disagreed (9 percent) could have other motivating factors such as jobdissatisfaction, unemployment, family business etc.

(v)

HIVA/IDS poses a real threat to the business growth of women entrepreneurs.

Most respondents (91 percent) agreed or strongly agreed that HIV/AIDS was a real threat to the business growth of women entrepreneurs. This can be explained by the high infection rates in Zambia and the working hours lost by employees who have to seek medical attention and get some rest. This finding agrees with the literature review where it was noted that the HIV/AIDS pandemic deprived women of the opportunity to contribute towards national economic development (Masebo, 2006:1). In addition, persons with HIV/AIDS have lower immunity thus other diseases such as opportunistic diseases such as tuberculosis take advantage leading to long periods of illness.

Respondents who disagreed or strongly disagreed could have felt that HIV/AIDS was not a real challenge as it was like any other disease except that people stigmatise those that have it. They may also not have had any significant experiences with HIV/AIDS in their enterprises.

The respondents that are uncertain (3 percent) could have not been clear on the impact of HIV/AIDS on their enterprises due to lack of information.

(vi)

Associations such as Women Entrepreneurs Development Association of Zambia

(WEDAZ) and Zambia Federation for Associations of Women In Business (ZFAWIB) offer business opportunities and support. A good number (60 percent) of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that WEDAZ and ZFAWIB, a women’s business association offered business opportunities and support. In the literature review it was noted that women associations such as AABWA and African Association of Women Entrepreneurs offer opportunities for training and marketing of goods.

The ILO study found that a number of women had received non-financial support services (business training, counselling, participating at exhibitions) and are active members of associations (ILO, 2003:55). However, there was still scope to increase the awareness of and greater interaction of the women entrepreneurs with business development support providers in Zambia as that study found. This finding is supported by the high numbers who disagreed or Challenges and Opportunities for Zambian Women Entrepreneurs

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strongly disagreed and are uncertain (40 percent) of the business support offered by both WEDAZ and ZFAWIB. There is need to ensure that this high number is reduced by putting in place measures by the associations that will market their services and increase their levels of business support.

Conclusions

Women entrepreneurs are faced with a number of challenges and opportunities. The challenges impede the growth of the women enterprises. The major challenges as seen in the study include access to finances, access to information, lack of business training/skills and experience, and negative attitudes towards women in business. Some women have not taken full advantage of the opportunities that are available to them. Some of the opportunities include tourism and agriculture businesses.

Below are conclusions arising from the research study.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Women Entrepreneurs

The study found that women entrepreneurs face challenges in accessing finances, information and competition from well-established male dominated businesses. Other challenges included family commitments, inadequate business support services and recruiting and managing human resources. The study has shown that women entrepreneurs are impacted negatively by these challenges. These challenges have been faced by the women entrepreneurs for some time as shown in the literature review has shown. Business support services, women business associations and organisations need to put in place better measures to effectively address these challenges so as to improve the performance of women enterprises.

Opportunities and Threats faced by Women Entrepreneurs

The study found that women entrepreneurs had opportunities in starting enterprises due to job dissatisfaction and a desire for personal development. In addition it was found that the majority of respondents thought that business associations such as WEDAZ and ZAFWIB offer business opportunities and support. HIV/AIDS was found to be a real threat to the business growth of women entrepreneurs. Women entrepreneurs need business support such as finances

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and training to take advantage of the available opportunities. This also applies to the threats faced by the women entrepreneurs.

Recommendations

Based on the research findings above, the following recommendations are made:

Access to Finances

Finances play a critical role in the development of women enterprises. Therefore, the government, civil society and business support providers need to put some measures in place to ensure that women entrepreneurs have better access to finances. For government it is recommended that a Women’s Entrepreneurship Development Fund be put in place. This will ensure women have adequate access to finances to develop their businesses. In addition, the Ministry of Gender in Development needs to set up a Women’s Desk that has detailed information on finances and other business details. Other policy strategies should include: 

Encouraging banks and other money-lending institutions to have favourable lending terms such as not demanding for too much collateral and giving low-interest loans for women and other disadvantaged groups.

  

Creation of women only banks to cater for women entrepreneurs in Zambia. Tax incentives to categories of women enterprises. Women business associations should have detailed information on services available from lending associations. This should include training in presenting funding proposals and business plans.

Access to Information

Women business associations need to create a comprehensive database of women entrepreneurs, business support providers, government ministries dealing with women entrepreneurs and business opportunities. The media needs to devote more space to addressing issues about women entrepreneurs and providing information useful to them. The Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry in liaison with stakeholder ministries needs to package relevant


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information on women entrepreneurs. The information should include details on business support services, policies, legislation, technologies and profiles of women entrepreneurs.

Business Support Development

Business support providers need to: 

Develop training programmes in business management skills such as marketing, finances, human resource management, operations management and knowledge of business performance, etc.



Facilitate better and improved networking amongst women entrepreneurs to ensure information sharing on business related matters. In addition role models among successful women entrepreneurs need to be used as signposts for women entrepreneurs.



Develop targeted training and support for different groups of women entrepreneurs e.g. widows, retrenches, new entrepreneurs etc.



Facilitate business incubation and mentoring of new entrepreneurs.

HIV/AIDS

The HIV/AIDS pandemic continues to be a major threat to the development of women enterprises in Zambia. Business support providers, business associations, and the government need to continue providing information and programmes that will mitigate the impact of the problems caused by the pandemic. This should include assistance in developing HIV/AIDS policies for the workplace, provision of anti-retroviral drugs and other AIDS therapeutic drugs.

Bibliography Annan, K. (2003) Investment in African Women Entrepreneurs Leverages Economic Growth [online]. London: Commission for Africa. Available from: http: //www.commissionforafrica.org/english/consultation/bob_geldofs_seminars/unitedstates/alice_ m_dear.pdf [Accessed 10 July 2006]. Chipungu, S. N. (ed.) (1992) Guardians in their Time. London: Macmillan Press Limited. Chisala, C. (2002) ‘New era dawns for Zambia women entrepreneurs?’ Times of Zambia, Ndola, Monday, 16 December 2002, p. 1. Coldwell, D. and Herbst, F. (2004) Business Research. Cape Town: Juta and Co. Ltd.

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Finnegan, G. (2003) Facilitating Women’s Entrepreneurship: Lessons form the ILO’s research and support programmes. Geneva: International Labour Organisation. Frese, M. (ed.) (2000) Success and Failure of Microbusiness Owners in Africa: A Psychological Approach. Westport: Quorum Books. Gundry, L. K., Ben-Yoseph, M. and Posig, M. (2002) ‘Contemporary Perspectives on Women’s Entrepreneurship: A Review and Strategic Recommendations’, Journal of Enterprising Culture, 10(1), March, 67-85. Hisrich, R. D., Peters, M. P. and Shepherd, D. A. (2005) Entrepreneurship. 6th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill. Kombe, A. M. (2000) Entrepreneurship Development in Zambia: An Evaluation of Barriers Affecting Entrepreneurship Development in the Informal Sector. Unpublished MBA dissertation. Lincolnshire: University of Lincolnshire and Humberside. Lumpa, C. (2006) ‘Speech at Launch of the Visit Zambia 2006 Campaign’, Tourism News, No. 21. April 2006. Lusaka: Chopiva Enterprises. Masebo, S. (2006) ‘HIV/AIDS derails women’s business progress’, Times of Zambia, 2 February 2006. Available from: http://www.times.co.zm/news/viewnews.cgi? category=allandid=1128023526 [Accessed on 19 May 2006]. Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry (2005) Commercial, Trade and Industrial Policy. Lusaka: Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry. Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry (2006) Small Enterprises Development Board [online]. Lusaka: Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry. Available from: http://www.mcti.gov.zm [Accessed on 17 May 2006]. Ministry of Science, Technology and Vocational Training (1998) Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Policy. Lusaka: Ministry of Science, Technology and Vocational Training. Nieman, G., Hough, J. and Nieuwenhuizen, C. (eds.) (2006) Entrepreneurship: A South African Perspective. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers. Robb, A. M. (2002) Entrepreneurial Performance by Women Minorities: The Case of New Firms. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 7(4), December, pp. 383-397. Tourism News (2005) ‘General Investment Opportunities in Zambia Tourism’, Tourism News, No. 13, May 2005. Lusaka: Chopiva Enterprises. Velasquez, M. G. (2004) Business Ethics – Concepts and Cases. 5th Edition. New Delhi: Prentice-Hall Walker, E. W. (1998) Indigenous Female Entrepreneurs in Zambia Success Strategies. Unpublished MBA dissertation. Leicester: De Montfort University.


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Zambia Investment Centre (2006) Investment Opportunities [online]. Lusaka: Zambia Investment Centre. Available from: http://www.zic.org.zm [Accessed on 7 May 2006].

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INSTRUCTIONS: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

1.

2.

3.

Please tick the appropriate box to indicate whether you:

Strongly disagree Disagree Uncertain Agree Strongly agree

Women Entrepreneurship plays a key role in a nation’s economic development Strongly disagree

1

Disagree

2

Uncertain

3

Agree

4

Strongly agree

5

You went into business because you were unemployed Strongly disagree

1

Disagree

2

Uncertain

3

Agree

4

Strongly agree

5

You went into business because you were dissatisfied with your job Strongly disagree

1

Disagree

2

Uncertain

3

Agree

4

Strongly agree

5


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MARCH 2007

4.

5.

6.

You went into business because you had a desire for personal development Strongly disagree

1

Disagree

2

Uncertain

3

Agree

4

Strongly agree

5

Female entrepreneurs differ from male entrepreneurs in terms of business skills. Strongly disagree

1

Disagree

2

Uncertain

3

Agree

4

Strongly agree

5

You prefer to run more than one enterprise at a time. Strongly disagree

1

Disagree

2

Uncertain

3

Agree

4

Strongly agree

5

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The Mancosa journal is a research periodical which publishes work from around Southern Africa that is applicable to policy, practice or research enquiry in general and specialised areas of management.

The views expressed in published articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the editor, editorial

board or MANCOSA. All submissions will be initially reviewed by the editor, and if appropriate, sent to referees for review. The authors are responsible for the accuracy of facts stated in the articles. Published by the Management College of Southern Africa, Durban, South Africa Copyright © 2007, MANCOSA


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Challenges & Opportunities for Zambian Women Entrepreneurs

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