Let’s close the confidence gap

Research continues to show there is a clear confidence gap that remains between men and women entrepreneurs. As a result, this causes women to be more averse to taking risks in business, which could be restricting their growth. But there is an upside to this confidence gap. Although women don’t take as many risks, they are better at assessing them. They recognize that the stakes are high, particularly in Africa. Women start businesses to feed their families, to educate their children, to support their communities, and to contribute to the social and economic development of their countries. They recognise that their success in business is part of a much longer impact value chain. So the upside of the confidence gap is that when women do make the decision to go into business, they plan and prepare for success and profitability, even though the road to get there may be slower. The good news is that with work, confidence can be acquired, self doubt can be diminished, and women entrepreneurs can become better at taking calculated risks that pay off in the long term.