Women Entrepreneurs - Seizing Opportunities and Making a Difference

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Center for International Private Enterprise

Women Entrepreneurs: Seizing Opportunities and Making a Difference

Article at a glance

• Entrepreneurshipempowerswomenandcontributestothedevelopmentoflocalcommunitiesandnationaleconomies.

• Women’sentrepreneurshipisnotjustaboutmicroenterprise—itisaboutbusinessesthatgrow,innovate,export,andcreatejobsforothers.

• Businessassociationsplayavitalroleinstrengtheningwomen’sentrepreneurshipbyprovidingtraining,networkingopportunities,accesstofinance,andremovingbarrierstodoingbusinessthroughpolicyadvocacy.

November 14, 2011

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon Author, The Dressmaker of Khair Khana

Mary SchnackNational Partner, Women Impacting Public Policy

Selima AhmadPresident and Founder, Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and

Industry (BWCCI)

®

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Center for International Private Enterprise 1155 15th Street, NW | Suite 700 | Washington, DC 20005ph: (202) 721-9200 | fax: (202) 721-9250 | www.cipe.org | [email protected]

Center for International Private Enterprise Women Entrepreneurs: Seizing Opportunities and Making a Difference

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Women entrepreneurs around the world need access to finance, markets, and peer networks, whether they are in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, or the United States. In this article, three panelists from CIPE’s Democracy that Delivers for Women conference discuss their experiences with women entrepreneurs in those countries, highlighting opportunities, challenges, and resources. To listen to their stories in full, visit

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J_93Vmupjo.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon: Entrepreneurship under the Taliban

When we think of stories of war, we rarelythinkofwomen.Andyet, it iswomenwhomakesure there is a community to go back to whenwar isover.Thenarrativethatweareusedtoseeswomen as victimsofwar tobepitied rather thanassurvivorsofwartoberespected.Weoverlookallthattheydotomakesurethatfamiliesgetthroughreallyimpossibletimes.

IwenttoAfghanistaninDecember2005whenI was writing an article for the Financial Times about women entrepreneurs in war zones. As afemalereporter,IfeltlikeIwasalmostexpectedtoapologizeforwritingstoriesaboutwomenbecausetheworldhassomehowcometoseethesestoriesas“soft.”Intruth,whenyouseetheworkthatwomendoeverydayontheground,itisreallyhard.

In Kabul, I interviewed a woman namedKamilaSidiqiwhosaidthatmoneywaspowerforwomen, and nothing earned respect like earningan income. In traditional societies, when womenare seen as bringing money into the household,it makes fathers and brothers have more respectforthewomenintheirfamilies.ThatisastrueinAfghanistanasitisanywhereintheworld.ShealsobelievedthatbusinesswouldbethethingthatpullsAfghanistanoutofpoverty,because longaftertheforeignersleave,localbusinesseswillremain.

I asked Kamila why she was so passionateabout business and she told me her story abouther dressmaking business in Afghanistan during

theTaliban reign. Although shewas a teacher bytraining, theTaliban forbadeher from followingthatcareerpath.TheTalibanalso forcedKamila’sfather and older brothers to flee out of fear ofbeingimprisonedorforcedtofightfortheTalibanmilitary.Kamilabeganherdressmakingbusinesstoprovideforherfiveyoungersiblings,startingwithonedressshesewedinherlivingroom.

One of the things that people do not realizeabout theTaliban period is that it is asmuch ofaneconomic storyas it is apolitical story.Underthe Taliban there was no real economic growth.To get by, people were selling anything – babydolls, shoelaces,doors,windows, and soon.Thatstagnation, coupled with women’s desperationto provide for their families, inspired potentialentrepreneurslikeKamila.

Kamila’s dressmaking business was successfulbecauseshefilledaholeinthemarket.DuringtheTaliban period, almost everyone with wealth hadleftKabulsotherewaslittledemandforexpensivePakistani andChinesedresses.Furthermore,maletailorswerenolongerallowedtomakedressesforwomen,butnomatterhowbadthingswereundertheTaliban,womenstillwantedtolookgoodandhave newdresses towear toweddings and familygatherings.Therefore,therewasanicheforwomenlikeKamilawhocouldsewdressesforotherwomen.

Kamila hired women and girls from aroundtheneighborhoodtoworkwithher inher livingroom making dresses. The Taliban forbade this

What Kamila did is what women

around the world do everyday

with almost no one paying

attention: she stepped up and

took care of her family and

community by creating a business.

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Center for International Private EnterpriseWomen Entrepreneurs: Seizing Opportunities and Making a Difference

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type of activity, but Kamila and her seamstressespersisted because they felt the empowerment andsenseofcommunityitcreatedforthem.EventuallyKamilarealizedthatshewasalousyseamstress,butan excellent businesswoman. So she did what allsuccessfulentrepreneursdo–findtheopportunity,bringagoodteamtogether,andsell.NowKamilahas abusiness consultancyand travels around thecountryteachingentrepreneurshipskills.

For me, this story about one young womenliving in a tough place at this incredibly difficultpoliticalperiod stood for somanyothers that theworld will never hear. There are many unsungheroines and inspiring entrepreneurs who are allaroundus,includingincountriesthatmostpeopledonotvisit.IwroteThe Dressmaker of Khair Khanato alter the global discussion and recognize thepowerofthesewomenaroundtheworldtocreaterealchangethroughentrepreneurship.

Suchwomenoftendonot thinkof themselvesasentrepreneurs.They just thinkof themselvesaswomenwhoarepullingfamiliesthroughandtheyhappentobeusingabusinesstodoit.WhatKamiladidiswhatwomenaroundtheworlddoeverydaywithalmostnoonepayingattention: she steppedupandtookcareofherfamilyandcommunityby

creatingabusiness.Shestartedwithonedressthatshe learned to make from her sister, and grew abusinesswith employees and anetworkof buyersallaroundKabul.

Some people hear these stories and tell methatIamonlytalkingabouttheexceptions.Thereare a couple of things I say to this. First, that iswhy such stories are called “news.” Second, thesewomen entrepreneurs are as Afghan as any otherwomen living throughout the countrywhether inconservative,ruralcommunitiesorinKabul.Theyhave every right tohave their story told and theyareimportanthomegrownrolemodelsthatmakeadifference.Third,itistheexceptions,likeKamila,whochangesocietiesaroundtheworld.

Mary Schnack: Going Global

WhenItravel,Ilovetoshopforuniquethingsandhandicrafts.BeforeIstartedmybusiness,sellerswouldseehowmuchIwasbuyingandtheywantedmetobuythingstobringbackandsellintheUnitedStates.AfterIreturnedhomeanddistributedgifts,my friendswould say, “Oh,my sisterwould lovethis.Ifyouseethisparticularsaleswomanoritemagain when you travel, could you bring me backanothertogivetomysister?”ThatiswhyIstartedmybusinessescalledUpFromTheDust.Iimportitemsmadebywomenindevelopingcountriesandbringthemtodevelopedcountriestosell.

I work with women so that we can help oursisters grow their businesses around the world. Iwanttomovetheconversationbeyondtheneediestwomenatthemicrolevel.

I buy from women who are in the “missingmiddle”becauseawomandoesnothavetobesittingonadirtfloortoneedhelpgrowingherbusiness.Forexample,IbuypursesfromadesignerinEgyptand people ask me, “Why does she need yourhelp?”The answer is because right now she doesnotselloutsideofEgypt,buttogrowherbusinessshe needs to be able to export. Without exportssheemploys14otherwomen,butifshegrowsherbusinessshewillcreateevenmorejobs.Thatiswhy

There is a lot of good work

that women do, but we have

not yet reached our maximum

scale. I think that by working in

associations we can advocate

the policies that will help us

get there, as well as strengthen

our own efforts by working in

solidarity.


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buyingherpursesreallyhasamultipliereffectforwomen, and that is what I love aboutUp FromTheDust.

Asabusinesswoman,Ithinkitisamistakeforany business owner to not belong to a chamberofcommerce.Forexample,IamamemberoftheNationalAssociationofWomenBusinessOwners(NAWBO)hereintheUnitedStates,andIjoinedit immediately after I quitmy corporate positionandstartedmyfirstbusiness.WhenNAWBOfirstcametomeandsaidthattheyweregoingtostartaninternationalforum,Ithought,“I’monepersonand I’m too small to go global.” But NAWBOtaughtmethatIwasnottoosmall.Sixyearslater,I am employing people and everymonth I travelinternationallyformybusiness.ThatiswhypartofmymissionwithwomenintheUnitedStatesistohelpthemgoglobal.

I also work with Women Impacting PublicPolicy (WIPP), andwe took it upon ourselves tobring smallbusiness issues into the2008electiondebates. The campaigns took us seriously, whichshows the impact that smaller actors can have byjoining together in an association.That is why Ithinkassociationsarekey.

Leadership is also important for women,which is why I am on the board of ATHENAInternational, an organization dedicated tosupporting, developing, and honoring womenleaders. Often women do not see themselvesas leaders because they are not “command andcontrol,” and they think that is the only way tobealeader.That,however,isnotwomen’sstyleofleadership.Womenaremorecollaborative.Wehelp

others.We give back to our communities.Thosearesomeofthetenetsthatneedtobehonoredinasociety.

There is a lot of good work that women do,butwehavenot yet reachedourmaximum scale.I think that by working in associations we canadvocatethepoliciesthatwillhelpusgetthere,aswell as strengthen our own efforts byworking insolidarity.

Selima Ahmad: More than Microenterprise

Iwas16yearsoldwhenImarried,andIwas17whenIhadmyfirstson.Ihadseenhowvoicelessmygrandmother,motherandsisterswerewithouteducationandeconomicempowerment,soIknewIneededtochangethatformyself.

Myprimaryconcernatthetimewasflexibilitybecause I had a son, I was married, and I wasstudying. I started with handicrafts and thenestablished the first and only artificial silk flowerindustry in Bangladesh. I started a businessconsultancywithmymalefriends,buttheyleftmetwoyears laterbecause they said thebusinesswastooriskyandtheriskswerenotdistributedevenly.TheyimpliedthatsinceIwasmarried,Icouldstillaffordtocarryonifthebusinessfailed.SoImovedon to other entrepreneurial pursuits, eventuallyfounding the Bangladesh Women Chamber ofCommerce and Industry (BWCCI) to help otherwomenentrepreneursovercomethesamechallengesIwasfacing.

WhenwetalkaboutthewomenofBangladesh,what do we talk about? We talk about womenworkersinthegarmentortextileindustries,orwetalk about microcredit and micro entrepreneurs.But are these micro entrepreneurs part of themainstreameconomy?Ifnot,howcanwegetthemtogobeyondthemicrolevel?Microenterprisecansupportalivelihoodbuthowmuchdoesitempowerwomenholistically?

By participating in the private

sector, women create a space

for their gender across entire

societies.

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Center for International Private EnterpriseWomen Entrepreneurs: Seizing Opportunities and Making a Difference

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Althoughnotallwomencanbeentrepreneurs,many can be. Entrepreneurs need resources,however.Training and capacity building are veryimportantforwomenentrepreneurs,asisaccesstofinanceandnetworking.Chambersandassociationcanplayagreaterpartinprovidingtheseservices,which also helps bring women into the formalsector. If a woman’s business is not a legal entityin the formal sector, then shedoesnotpay taxes,generate employment, or have a voice in policiesaffectingtheprivatesector.Therefore,itisessentialtobringwomenintotheformalsectorsothattheycanmaximizetheirpotential.

Let me tell you about Shahanara, one ofour BWCCI members. Shahanara came to theChamberwithsomebackgroundincrafts.Shewasvery punctual to all of our events and I noticedher commitment. Eventually I learned she had abackgroundinseveralareasofbusinesssoIbegantopresshertoseewhatshecoulddo.

BWCCI provided her with training onentrepreneurship, personal management, andfinancialmanagement.Laterweencouragedhertoparticipate inadomestictradefairandeventuallyshe generated enough revenue to participate in atradefairinMilan,whereshegotanexportorder.NowShahanaraisexportinghergoodstoItaly.

Ourmemberssaythattheywerevoicelessbeforetheyhadtheirbusinessesandnowtheyunderstandthebenefitsofrunningtheirownbusiness.Theysaytheyhavemoremobilityandmoreparticipationindecision-making,aswellasmorecontrolovertheirownmoney.Byparticipatingintheprivatesector,womencreateaspacefortheirgenderacrossentiresocieties.

Women entrepreneurs are about more thanindividual income generation and empowerment.Women entrepreneurs are also working towardliftingmanymillionsofpeopleoutofpovertyandtoward a more prosperous Bangladesh. They canrockthecradleandshapethebusinessworld,too.

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Theseremarksarebasedonaplenarysessiontitled,“Economic Empowerment, Entrepreneurship,and Small Business Development” at CIPE’sDemocracy that Delivers for Women conference.To learnmoreabout thatevent,pleasevisitwww.democracythatdelivers.com.Theremarksinfull,aswellasthefollow-upQuestion&Answersession,are available on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J_93Vmupjo.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon is the NewYorkTimes-bestselling author of The Dressmaker of KhairKhana and a Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Prior to joining the Council, she covered public policy and emerging markets for the global investment firm PIMCO, after working for nearly a decade as a journalist with the ABC News Political Unit and “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.” Her reporting on entrepreneurs in conflict and post-conflict regions has appeared in the FinancialTimes, NewYorkTimes, InternationalHeraldTribune, the DailyBeast, and ChristianScienceMonitor, along with Bloomberg, Politico and the HuffingtonPost.

Mary Schnack is an award-winning writer, reporter, public relations professional and advocate. She has written for major national magazines and newspapers, including Newsweek, McCall’s and the LosAngelesTimes. She served on the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) national board of directors and was co-founder of NAWBO’s International Forum. She is a National Founding Partner and on the executive advisory board for Women Impacting Public Policy. She also is a Lifetime Charter Member of Boardroom Bound, a corporate governance and director candidate program, and graduate of their Pipeline seminar. She is a board member and co-chair of the International Committee of ATHENA International board of directors. Her website is http://www.maryschnack.com/ and you can follow her on twitter at @MarySchnack.


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Selima Ahmad is founder and president of the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Ms. Ahmad has worked with numerous trade organizations, including the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Bangladesh Automobile Assemblers and Manufacturers Association, and the Bangladesh Handicraft Manufacturers and Exporters Association. In the private sector, Ms. Ahmad currently serves as Vice Chair of the Nitol-Niloy Group. She has a held various top management positions in a number of companies, particularly in the areas of Finance and Human Resources, such as Nitol Motors Ltd, Nitol Cement Industries Ltd, Capital Services Lts, Central Properties Ltd, and Fidelity Assets & Securities Co. Ltd.

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Women Entrepreneurs - Seizing Opportunities and Making a Difference