Women entrepreneurs indicated that their firms remained resilient during the pandemic, according to the research.
During the epidemic, most women reported using retained earnings, personal resources, and funds from family and friends to fund their businesses.
Despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, a new analysis funded by the African Development Bank finds that women-owned companies in Africa are faring better than predicted, with relatively high levels of resilience.
The Lionesses Business Confidence Report reveals how COVID-19 is affecting Africa’s leading female entrepreneurs, as well as how their firms are functioning in comparison to their expectations.
According to the data, 59 percent of female entrepreneurs who took part in the poll said the pandemic had no effect on their firms.
A small minority (5%) of respondents, on the other hand, stated they expect a rebound to pre-COVID-19 levels in 2023 or beyond, according to the report.
Another noteworthy finding from the report was that to weather the impact of COVID-19, women entrepreneurs predominantly reported using retained earnings, personal cash, and funding from family and friends to fund their business operations. This meant that they mostly used internal sources of financing to fund their companies’ activities through 2020 and into the first quarter of 2021.
“The Lionesses Business Confidence Report comes at an excellent time,” Dr. Beth Dunford, the Bank Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, said in the report’s foreword. The research uses statistics to give voice to remarkable African women entrepreneur role models who serve as an inspiration to other African women entrepreneurs as they respond to the current problems posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Melanie Hawken, Founder and CEO of Lionesses of Africa, remarked, “The Lionesses Business Confidence Report presents a unique insight of the African economy from the perspective of these prominent women entrepreneurs.” “The research examines how these women-led enterprises fared during the pandemic’s peak, how they fared against expectations, and how they are responding to the pandemic’s ongoing impact.”
“The report is both informative and positive,” she continued.
According to the findings, 91 percent of women entrepreneurs consider digital transformation to be “vital” or “extremely important” to their business. According to the survey, two-thirds of respondents (68 percent) are optimistic about their companies’ present digital capabilities. However, the majority of respondents (88%) said they want to boost their spending on digital technologies.
