Impact Partner Content / Absa
The Franchise Association of South Africa (FASA), in partnership with Absa, hosted its first virtual conference since before the pandemic on the 25th and 26th August. The aim was to review, reset and revive the franchise sector in the country. South Africa stands out as the only country in Africa that embraced the franchising model way back in the 1960s and built it into the formidable business sector that has created 800 business brands operating through over 48 000 outlets and employing around half a million people. One of the key topics for discussion at the Conference was empowering Africa's women entrepreneurs and recognizing their role as critical job creators. Lionesses of Africa was invited to present its findings on this important subject from its recent South African Women Entrepreneurs Job Creators Survey, undertaken in partnership with New York University, in collaboration with Absa.
The mission of the FASA Conference, Empowering African Enterprise Through Franchising, is one that resonates with Lionesses of Africa (LoA) as a Public Benefit Corporation. Like FASA, LoA is committed to empowering Africa’s women entrepreneurs, by connecting them to business opportunities so they can grow and create the jobs that the continent so badly needs. And we know all too well what a pressing challenge this is in South Africa. The latest unemployment statistics announced in the country make for challenging reading, so the role of women entrepreneurs as job creators has never been so needed. Franchising could represent one of the powerful opportunities for many women entrepreneurs in South Africa to get their foot onto the entrepreneurial ladder. To grow businesses that not only empower themselves and their families, but also their communities through much needed local job creation - particularly for the country’s youth.
L-R: Sean Goldsmith, Dr Linda Zuze, Melanie Hawken
Lionesses of Africa founder and ceo, Melanie Hawken, provided some strategic context to the research, sharing the organization’s mission to advance Africa’s women entrepreneurs. She said: “It is a mission we are passionate about, as we believe that women entrepreneurs can be the drivers of real and lasting socio-economic change on the continent through their businesses. If those businesses grow, so too does the impact they make and the much needed jobs they create for others.”
Melanie also introduced the work of Lioness Data, the research and insights unit of Lionesses of Africa, that taps into its growing network of over 1.3 million women entrepreneurs across Africa. The aim is to extract actionable insights that help investors, policy-makers, funders, corporate and government buyers, and entrepreneur eco-system players make faster and better data-driven decisions for women entrepreneurs.
Melanie added, “I passionately believe that if we want to change the business landscape for women entrepreneurs in Africa, and provide the opportunity for us all to grow, thrive and fulfill our business potential, then data is critical. How often do I hear the words “show us the data” when I am presenting the business case for greater support for women entrepreneurs in Africa to potential investors, influencers, corporates and government leaders around the world? So, that is why Lioness Data was launched at the beginning of 2020 - to start bridging the data gap and help big business and government to better understand and support the growth and development of Africa’s women entrepreneurs. This year, Lioness Data is laser focused on a number of important themes that will give voice to Africa’s women entrepreneurs and deliver data at scale by turning our big community into big data. Job Creation is the first of those themes and we will be sharing the findings of our South Africa Women Entrepreneurs Job Creators Survey report this morning, which as I mentioned earlier was a research project undertaken by Lioness Data in partnership with New York University, and in collaboration with Absa.”
The Research Director at Lioness Data, Dr Linda Zuze, then presented some of the interesting findings of the South Africa Women Entrepreneurs Job Creators Survey report. She focused her presentation on the 9 Dimensions for Evaluating Job Creation by South African Women Entrepreneurs which included the impact of solopreneurs, partnerships and women employers on job creation; job creation motivation; job creation performance; quality of jobs created; future hiring intentions; hiring practices; obstacles and challenges; impact of COVID-19; and the impact of remote working.
Dr Linda Zuze presented the conclusions of the survey which indicated a deep commitment to job creation among South Africa’s women entrepreneurs. It also highlighted that women entrepreneurs contribute to SA’s human-capital development in important ways, including through preferential-hiring practices — a sizable share noted preferential hiring for historically disadvantaged South Africans, women, and young people. Women entrepreneurs also play an active role in people development, through on-the-job training and other approaches to skill acquisition. The research found that COVID-19 was a substantial setback with only a small number of women able to access government COVID-19 business assistance or to secure external financing when needed. Most of the women surveyed experienced sizable losses in revenues due to COVID-19. Yet, despite the blow COVID-19 dealt women, the survey reveals great optimism with majority of respondents anticipating their businesses will recover within two years. Women anticipate growth in revenues and are either actively recruiting new staff or planning for near-term hires. Interestingly, the survey found that women-led businesses with a digital presence demonstrated greater resilience during COVID-19. The top line finding is that women entrepreneurs see themselves as important and committed contributors to job creation in SA.
To download a copy of the South African Women Entrepreneurs Job Creators Survey, click here https://www.lionessesofafrica.com/south-african-women-entrepreneurs-job-creators-survey
