Initiatives can help counter coronavirus’ impact on women-owned businesses
November 23th, 2020 – COVID-19 continues to sweep across borders, wreaking economic havoc around the world. And the aftershocks it inflicts are deeply impacting women-owned businesses. In a WeConnect International survey of 600 women-led businesses in emerging markets, 90 percent reported a decrease in sales from January to March 2020, with 56 percent reporting an urgent need of working capital.
Well before the pandemic, women faced financial constraints to grow their businesses. The unmet demand for credit among women-owned formal micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in developing countries was estimated at $1.5 trillion before COVID-19. Yet, women-owned businesses are an untapped opportunity—especially in developing countries, where small and medium enterprises generate 70 percent of jobs and 40 percent of economic growth. If women and men participated equally as entrepreneurs as much as $5 trillion could be added to the global economy.
But as the health and economic shocks of COVID-19 ripple through emerging markets, without sufficient financing and working capital, women-owned businesses face even greater liquidity constraints and insolvency.
Written by Blogs World Bank
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