Women entrepreneurs out to conquer Africa

While women used to do business out of necessity on the African continent, more and more women entrepreneurs today are starting businesses out of desire and determination, combining modernity with respect for tradition.

Success stories of women entrepreneurs

Regarded for many years as a poor performer in terms of gender parity and the promotion of women’s employment, the African continent is now benefiting from the initiative and leadership of the women who account for more than half of its population. The goal of creating a profit-making activity to help support their family unit has transformed many African women into budding entrepreneurs.

There are now many more female entrepreneurial initiatives on this continent than elsewhere in the world, and women can be found running agricultural and craft-related organisations or doing business as market traders. It is clear that African women can no longer be relegated to the status of vendors of products on the stalls of these markets.

One of the continent’s leading female success stories is Massogbè Touré Diabaté, a well-known figure in the promotion of cashew nuts in Côte d’Ivoire. This seasoned entrepreneur in charge of SITA SA has made her mark in the industrial sector and has taken up the challenges of industrialisation and the economic emancipation of women.

Magatte Wade, also in West Africa, is another successful entrepreneur. This born businesswoman has excelled in the promotion of natural African products in the food and cosmetics industry, mainly on the American market. At just 45 years old, Magatte Wade runs two companies and is one of those young African women who are contributing to the continent’s development.

Women entrepreneurs face a series of challenges

While any woman can, in theory, become an entrepreneur, not everyone is equipped to do so. Being successful in business requires a number of qualities and competencies, not all of which can be acquired at school. African female entrepreneurs are often proof of this, exuding a strong personality that helps them overcome the various challenges and difficulties they face on a daily basis. This is the very essence of the African woman: hope, courage and perseverance, values that are now making them an integral part of the economic, social and sustainable development of the continent.

Women must also manage their family units efficiently and organise their lives as best they can to meet their needs – essential qualities required by budding female entrepreneurs. Makhtar Diop, Vice-President of the World Bank for Sub-Saharan Africa, said as much at the Africa-France Forum in Paris in December 2016: “The entrepreneurial capacity of women in Africa is impressive. They are essential agents of production.” 

Determined, ambitious and resourceful, African women continue to gain legitimacy within their communities, despite facing sexism and inequalities on a daily basis.

Women entrepreneurs 2.0: convention breakers

When seeking to identify the origins of entrepreneurship among African women, what immediately comes to mind are the women and mothers selling food on market stalls, especially in French-speaking Africa, or the “Nanas Benz”, businesswomen from Togo whose main activity is the trade in traditional textiles.

Over time, a generation of female entrepreneurs has emerged, in this case young women, who are breaking with conventions and succeeding in traditionally male-dominated sectors such as architecture, civil engineering, new information and communication technologies, aviation, geology and science. Take the career path of the famous Ivorian “geek” Edith Brou, for example, who has managed to ride the digital wave and bring her personal touch to a very masculine world.

Africa is THE continent of tomorrow and digital technology has opened up excellent opportunities to accelerate its transformation. As a digital entrepreneur, I am part of this wave of the younger generation that is looking to seize the opportunities available to us to rethink a different Africa. Despite the difficulties associated with the cost and quality of Internet connection on the continent, digital technology offers vast business opportunities.

Read More: https://ideas4development.org/en/women-entrepreneur-africa/