UGANDA ON THE RIGHT TRACK WITH WOMEN

At the end of last year credit card company, Mastercard released its Index of Women Entrepreneurs survey (MIWE), which showed Uganda had the highest proportion of women business owners of the countries surveyed.

Ghana came a close second, just ahead of Botswana. The United States of America and New Zealand rounded off the top five.

In the report on the survey Mastercard made the point that, economies where women were more economically active, by the traditional measure, are more likely to grow. But women are only economically active in an environment that allows and empowers them to do so.

Maybe this finding about Uganda should not come as surprise. Numerous surveys over the last two decades have shown that we are among the most entrepreneurial countries, if not the most entrepreneurial country in the world.

The participation of women in business is often hampered or obstructed altogether by cultural or religious traditions surrounding working and property ownership. In Uganda a lot still has to be done in making workplaces more women friendly and streamlining women’s property ownership in the family context. That being said, women can own property or businesses and are increasingly breaking through the glass ceilings in corporate Uganda.

This is progress that should be actively encouraged in a poor country like Uganda.

In order to fulfill our development ambitions we cannot afford to relegate half the population to second class citizens. While we are richly endowed by nature, we have done little to unlock the full potential within our borders. In the absence of this the smart thing to do is to develop the human resource. All hands have to be on deck.

Progressive policies in education and politics, where the most visible affirmative action initiatives were taken, have begun to show dividends.

This year more women than men graduated from Makerere University. According to official figures 50.5% of the 13,509 graduands were women....

A 30-year-old policy to award every A-level girl 1.5 points towards their university admission is clearly showing results.

In politics every one of the 134 (I think) districts is entitled to a woman’s representative. In addition to the women who win in the constituencies, they make up at least a third of the 450 seat house.

These initiatives have proven to be more than just political posturing. To uplift disadvantaged populations there is no stronger tool than the power of example. There are now thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of young ladies and girls who see political position, higher education and career advancement within the realm of possibility. We take it for granted now, but that has not always been the case.

That is why it is a good start that already more and more women are going into business. According to the Mastercard survey 38% of business in Uganda are owned by women. They are exploding the myth, for younger ladies, that business is male domain.

It is a good start because just like the global picture of Uganda’s entrepreneurship, most women are necessity not opportunity entrepreneurs. The difference is significant.

Necessity entrepreneurs are those who go into business because, often times they have no choice, no other source of income. They go into business to sustain themselves and their families. Opportunity entrepreneurs on the other hand go into business to exploit a gap in the market and are set on growing their business beyond their own needs.

As a result businesses started by necessity entrepreneurs tend to remain informal, are not robust and are responsible for the high attrition statistics – barely five in a hundred businesses get to their fifth birthday.

On other hand businesses with opportunity entrepreneurs are set up for growth, employ more people and on average survive longer.

"The trick is to shift more of our entrepreneurs towards opportunity investment. The shift is more mental than anything else. More than lack of capital or our taxation system....

With one fell sweep in 1972 we wiped out an entire commercial class, the Asians, who through their mentorship would have transferred enough of their business skills over time that our businessmen would be more opportunity entrepreneurs. Proof of this is that, even today our most enduring businessmen are those who were mentored by the Asian community.

In the absence of that, small business training and incubator programs, which help business people reorient their thinking will have to do.

We are a step ahead of most, because entrepreneurship is second nature to us. This is a hangover from the total collapse of the economy in the 1970s and 1980s where having a side income, which became your main income, was not a luxury but a necessity. The tradition has carried on.

I think it is easier to reorient the business people we already have, than it would be to try and encourage people to go into business in the first place.

And while more women in business may be a sad reflection of their men not carrying their weight, the unintended outcome of that, may very well be that we will have a stronger society as a result of more educated and healthier kids.