A woman attending to her farm.[Photo/tharanithi.go.ke]
There is substantial indication that women are the glue that holds their families, communities and even local economies composed all over the world. In fact, they are the unifying factor. This impact is particularly keenly felt in emerging economies such as those in Africa, where women are promoters of growth and extensive financial inclusion.
What’s more, Kenya's women boast a 100 percent entrepreneurial activity rate, 93.9 percent labor participation rate and 90.5 percent borrowing or saving rate for the purposes of opening a business.
Kenya is also making notable strides in this area, with dedicated programmes like the UN Joint Programme on Youth Employment helping many of the country’s young women entrepreneurs.
If we look at Nigeria, we also notice a high percentage of female entrepreneurship, with as many as 41 percents of the country’s women acting as entrepreneurs. This is notably higher than many developed countries like the USA where only 10 percent of women are entrepreneurs and France where a tiny three percent of women are entrepreneurs.
These examples serve to illustrate the sheer value of women entrepreneurs, and why it is critical to financing women-owned businesses and micro, small or medium-sized enterprises in supply chains and in Kenya, in particular in order to truly be able to generate the economic growth that is necessary at local, national and global levels.