Lionesses of Africa lead the way

WOMEN entrepreneurs are not only creating jobs but are doing so in the very early stages of their company’s life cycle, a new survey has found.

The first South African Women Entrepreneurs Job Creators Survey report was released this month, providing key insights into the crucial role women entrepreneurs play as job creators.

The survey was conducted by Lionesses of Africa together with New York University and Absa, where 913 women entrepreneurs were interviewed between November 23 last year and April 28 this year.

Lionesses of Africa said in a statement that the survey was an opportunity for South Africa’s women entrepreneurs to share their experiences with job creation and how Covid-19 affected it and revenue generation.

According to the findings, 90% of the entrepreneurs reported that job creation was an important consideration in starting their businesses. The majority of the respondents also anticipated that their businesses will recover from the impact of the Covid19 pandemic within two years.

The survey also revealed that, on average, the entrepreneurs had about 29 employees whereas the “typical” entrepreneur employed five staff and the top 1% had 1 000 or more employees.

“The majority of companies with employees hired their first employee early in the life of their business, 67% within the first year. This would indicate that women entrepreneurs are not only creating jobs but are doing so in the very early stage of their company’s life cycle,” the organisation said.

Lionesses of Africa founder Melanie Hawken said the findings of the survey were encouraging because there is a self-belief on the part of women entrepreneurs in their ability to create jobs.

“Women entrepreneurs have job creation in their DNA. Another stand-out finding from the report was how these women fought to protect jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic. More than two-thirds either reducing their own salaries or stopping paying themselves a salary altogether in order to look after their staff first. Women entrepreneurs are committed to both creating and retaining jobs,” she said.

Bongiwe Gangeni, deputy chief executive of Absa Retail and Business Bank, said the Job Creators Survey highlights the significant role women entrepreneurs play to create jobs and support the economy.

The survey further demonstrated that 85% of South Africa’s women entrepreneurs were in non-employing partnerships while 78% of solo-entrepreneurs reported that they hire or work with other self-employed freelancers or independent contractors.

“The majority of these women have growth in their plans: 79% of those in partnerships and 69% of solo-entrepreneurs plan to make full-time hires at some point in the future, while 91% and 80%, respectively, reported that they plan to grow and scale their business,” the survey said.

The women entrepreneurs also expressed optimism about their revenue outlook for 2021, with 76% of respondents expecting to increase their revenues.

“Women entrepreneurs were similarly optimistic about the timeline for their businesses to recover from the impact of the pandemic, with the vast majority expecting to recover within two years. Both of these factors indicate green shoots for recovery and job creation in both the short and medium term,” Lionesses of Africa said.