Women’s Contribution to Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Arab World
Globalization and its relationship with gender has been an emerging theme for international trade relations and women’s empowerment in developing countries. Given women's lower rates of school attendance and labor participation in the Arab world, the region has one of the lowest rates of women who are active in newly established business ventures (8.5%) and the number is even lower (3.5%) for businesses that are active for more than three years now.[1]
Although the number of women-owned businesses in the Arab world is still low, less than 4% of the total businesses, when compared to previous years, there are higher investments from women and higher returns with respect to existing establishments.[2] Having more women in the labor force is clearly an advantage for the Arab world.
Since 2004, women-owned businesses in most Arab countries have boosted economic growth more than preexisting establishments. Most female-owned companies tend to employ women, which creates jobs for an underused workforce and is usually less costly for the business owners.[3] Women’s economic empowerment and their role in innovation have been possible, mainly through advances in information and communication technologies (ICT).
Innovative ICT solutions are giving educated housewives the ability to create a new source of income and manage their time more efficiently. However, women business owners still face challenges from the patriarchal authority in their societies. For example, in Lebanon and Bahrain, women-owned businesses face critical issue embodied in their lack of access to finance; less than one-third can obtain a loan.[4]
Gradual changes in the public sphere have enabled many educated women to be able to express themselves freely, as well as, to establish new women-oriented businesses. As women become more visible in labor force, in education, and as business owners, the Arab world will become a more integrated society.
[1] OECD-MENA Women's Business Forum, 2013.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Silvio Contessi, Francesca de Nicola, and Li Li, 2013, "International Trade, Female Labor, and Entrepreneurship in MENA Countries," Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review.
[4] Julie R. Weeks, 2009, "Women Business Owners in the Middle East and North Africa," International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, pp. 77-85.
Yarın Kıroğlu is a consultant for GGODR at The World Bank. His research interests include world politics, political demography, political economy of growth and development, economic and demographic implications of bilateral trade, econometrics, game theory, and computational analysis. He holds M.A. in Business Information Systems and M.A. in International Political Economy.
