WOMEN OWN APPROXIMATELY 44% OF CAPE VERDEAN COMMERCIAL FABRIC

The study - conducted by AMES (Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Santiago) in partnership with UN Women and ICIEG and focused on companies based in Praia, Santa Catarina, Tarrafal and Santa Cruz - was born out of the need for a women's profile survey entrepreneurs on the island of Santiago, as well as the characterization of their businesses and the difficulties they encounter in the course of their activities. The resulting report points out that socio-economic and cultural factors “have created a situation in which most development efforts in the country tend to ignore the potential economic and social contribution of women and therefore fail to mobilize. reap the benefits of the vital human resources they constitute. In its 2014 Annual Business Survey, the National Institute of Statistics reported that 44% of businesses operating in Cape Verde were located on the island of Santiago (4,088,000 out of 9,185 businesses). The document INE does not contain data to know the real contribution of women to the national economic fabric.In order to fill this gap, the Santiago Norte profile on the profile of women entrepreneurs analyzed micro, small, medium and large enterprises based on the Santiago Island, with female participation in the social capital. The profile created indicates that the predominance of these companies is in commerce, which represents approximately 77% of their activities. The provision of services is approximately 16% and in l industry, this number drops to 6%.In terms of spatial dimension, “9 out of 10 companies are local and only 7% reach a national proportion”.In Santiago, the majority of women entrepreneurs (60.5%) belong to a u age group of 35 to 54 years (60.5%). quotThey have a low level of education, 45% not exceeding the basic level of education and are mostly married (53.6%).quot Another aspect to keep in mind is the fact that few (11%) are betting on drawing up a feasibility study for the opening of their business. However, 36% assume that there is no management practice in their company. “The day-to-day management of women-led businesses faces a myriad of constraints ranging from issues of competition from other businesses, to difficulties in purchasing raw materials, to tax burden/tax issues,” concludes the study. And in light of this and other results of the survey – conducted among a sample of 500 companies where 220 companies were validated – AMES, ICIEG and UN Women make recommendations, starting with “the need to promote and to facilitate opportunities for women entrepreneurs on the island. both in management and, above all, in marketing and marketing”. The practice of using finance and knowledge to expand its activities, conquer new markets and improve the quality of products and services is also considered a priority. The profile of women entrepreneurs in Santiago is the guarantee given by most of them that the exercise of their professional activity does not interfere quotin any way with their family environment, especially thanks to good time management and family support quot. Por Chissana Magalhães In Jornal Expresso das ilhas de 8 Mar 2017