FASA Conference provides platform to discuss empowering African enterprise through women’s entrepreneurship — Lionesses of Africa

Melanie added, “I passionately believe that if we want to change the business landscape for women entrepreneurs in Africa, and provide the opportunity for us all to grow, thrive and fulfill our business potential, then data is critical. How often do I hear the words “show us the data” when I am presenting the business case for greater support for women entrepreneurs in Africa to potential investors, influencers, corporates and government leaders around the world? So, that is why Lioness Data was launched at the beginning of 2020 – to start bridging the data gap and help big business and government to better understand and support the growth and development of Africa’s women entrepreneurs. This year, Lioness Data is laser focused on a number of important themes that will give voice to Africa’s women entrepreneurs and deliver data at scale by turning our big community into big data. Job Creation is the first of those themes and we will be sharing the findings of our South Africa Women Entrepreneurs Job Creators Survey report this morning, which as I mentioned earlier was a research project undertaken by Lioness Data in partnership with New York University, and in collaboration with Absa.” 

The Research Director at Lioness Data, Dr Linda Zuze, then presented some of the interesting findings of the South Africa Women Entrepreneurs Job Creators Survey report. She focused her presentation on the 9 Dimensions for Evaluating Job Creation by South African Women Entrepreneurs which included the impact of solopreneurs, partnerships and women employers on job creation; job creation motivation; job creation performance; quality of jobs created; future hiring intentions; hiring practices; obstacles and challenges; impact of COVID-19; and the impact of remote working.  

Dr Linda Zuze presented the conclusions of the survey which indicated a deep commitment to job creation among South Africa’s women entrepreneurs. It also highlighted that women entrepreneurs contribute to SA’s human-capital development in important ways, including through preferential-hiring practices — a sizable share noted preferential hiring for historically disadvantaged South Africans, women, and young people. Women entrepreneurs also play an active role in people development, through on-the-job training and other approaches to skill acquisition. The research found that COVID-19 was a substantial setback with only a small number of women able to access government COVID-19 business assistance or to secure external financing when needed. Most of the women surveyed experienced sizable losses in revenues due to COVID-19. Yet, despite the blow COVID-19 dealt women, the survey reveals great optimism with majority of respondents anticipating their businesses will recover within two years. Women anticipate growth in revenues and are either actively recruiting new staff or planning for near-term hires. Interestingly, the survey found that women-led businesses with a digital presence demonstrated greater resilience during COVID-19. The top line finding is that women entrepreneurs see themselves as important and committed contributors to job creation in SA.

To download a copy of the South African Women Entrepreneurs Job Creators Survey, click here https://www.lionessesofafrica.com/south-african-women-entrepreneurs-job-creators-survey