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Name: .Women Entrepreneurship-Training and funding as major barriers
Name of publication: L’express
Name of Journalist: Michel Chui Chun Lam
Date: 05 September 2012
Country: Mauritius
Theme: Business,Entrepreneur
Skills: Sources
Genre: Local News
Gem classification: Gender Aware
Description: These are two real difficulties that businesswomen are facing nowadays according to Professor Priya Baguant from the University of Mauritius after a study conducted on “The profile and motivation of women entrepreneurs in Mauritius” by the Mauritius Research Council (MRC).Analysing these statistics, the president of the National Women Entrepreneur Council (N.W.E.C), Mala Chetty admits that these difficulties are affecting mostly the micro-enterprises. Because of their small sizes, they find it difficult to guarantee their solvency. The ideal situation is that women start up with their own capital outlines Mala Chetty. 62% of businesswomen have so far launched their enterprises with their own means. But in many cases, these women have experienced difficulties to manage their business.
The study of the MRC reveals that 64% of women entrepreneurs interviewed did not have a separate bank account for their business. Besides, many of them have disclosed that they faced difficulties with the members of the Revenue Authority. Professor Baguant says that women entrepreneurs are growing in an unstructured way. This is where proper training is of great importance. However, studies have denoted that the women entrepreneurs opt for short courses. They find it tough to leave their businesses and attend the training sessions says Mala Chetty.
Another problem that arises is with the administration and procedures. “We have to wait for long and sometimes we are asked for papers that we do not have, which is really confusing “says Shirley Bell the president of the “Groupe Féminin Mere Teresa”.Yet there are instances that have been set up by the authorities to support women entrepreneurs in Mauritius. There are many facilities being offered but they should be visible and accessible to all says Shirley. The study also outlines that some institutions such as the concerned ministries and the National Empowerment Foundation make themselves an image and be recognised. Besides, the Barclays Bank and the N.W.E.C will soon launch an Entrepreneur Guide. Despite the difficulties encountered, the business women are still optimists and see 93% of them see their business to flourish in the future.
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