The place of women in business

Baku/05.08.21/Turan: There is only one 100% way to double the global economy - the development of women's entrepreneurship, this is the conclusion reached by the specialists of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). 

According to their research, if the number of female entrepreneurs was equal to the number of male entrepreneurs, then global GDP growth would increase from 3% to 6%, and the size of the world economy would increase from $ 2.5 trillion to $ 5 trillion.

Meanwhile, according to analysts, women's entrepreneurship in the world faces a number of problems. The most important of them is the lack of funding. However, in Turkey, South Korea and Slovakia, the situation is beginning to change for the better. It is reported that in recent years, women's entrepreneurship has begun to develop in Azerbaijan.

What is the situation in this area in the country? What problems does women's entrepreneurship face in Azerbaijan?

Public activist Rabiya Mammadova said that 10 months ago she applied to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection with a request to join her to the women's self-employment program: “The program is being implemented with the financial support of the World Bank. I have applied to participate in this program. After about 20 days, they contacted me and said that my appeal was registered and they would contact me,” the woman says.

Later, according to Mammadova, despite the fact that 6 months have passed, no one contacted her. “When I applied to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection through an online application, I contacted with the Binagadi Employment Center No. 4. They said they would contact me. Two more months passed, and then I went to the Employment Center, because there was no news from them. This time I was told that the online application was not registered and was offered to apply in writing. I applied,” she said, noting that after about two weeks she was attracted to the training. “After the training, I prepared a business plan and sent it to the Employment Center. And then they told me that the certification would be in late August - early September,” says the novice entrepreneur.

Mammadova said that before certification she was given to understand that it is impossible even to create a small sewing workshop. “Although at the beginning of the program they didn’t tell me about it, they didn’t write that in order to get some accessories, within the program, you need to know tailoring. A year has passed since then, but it is still not clear whether I will be certified at all or not. And all this time I was unemployed,” she said.

Turan was unable to find out the position of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection on this matter. However, the Agency for the Development of Small and Medium Business (ADSMB) reported that increasing the economic initiative of women in Azerbaijan, their greater representation in entrepreneurship and employment is one of the priorities of state policy. "Since the second half of 2021, the geography of SME development centers has been expanding, which will help to attract women to participate in business trainings in other regions," the agency said.

The agency also reported that to date, more than 30 percent of entrepreneurs in Baku and the regions who have taken part in the events implemented by the ADSMB for training, improving knowledge and skills, using the support of this organization to access sales markets and financial resources.

According to the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication, 174,329 business entities were registered in 2020. 9230 of them are commercial legal entities, 165,099 are individual entrepreneurs. The founders of 14.8 percent (1,373) of commercial legal entities and 20.4 percent (33,742) of individual entrepreneurs are women. Studies conducted in different countries of the world show that the development of women's entrepreneurship is important for accelerating economic growth, improving social well-being and ensuring inclusiveness (organizing life in society, which allows all people to participate in its various aspects, regardless of their appearance, origin, gender, state health - Ed.) country.

Economist Natig Jafarli said that it is officially announced that a quarter of entrepreneurs are women. "But there is a subtle point. We do not have many women officially and seriously engaged in entrepreneurship. Since officials are officially prohibited from doing business, some of them register their business in the name of their spouse. This leads to an increase in official figures."

The expert noted that doing business in Azerbaijan is extremely difficult. “The fact that the number of women in business is low is due to the state of the business environment. However, women entrepreneurs have other problems as well. Women entrepreneurs with a business idea face not only problems created by the government, but also family pressure. Often, women who have brilliant ideas are hindered by close relatives."-0—