By Barbara Oku(Dr)
Women are undeniably, critical contributors to the macroeconomic growth especially in most emerging economies.
Today’s woman has evolved – from being a stay-at-home- mother (popularly known as a housewife), to a formal employee, and to a career woman with a side business.
A side business can be explained as an income-generating activity that is run alongside a salaried activity. Most of these side businesses are informal in nature and run virtually or in a structured location.
Oftentimes, these side businesses create jobs for the less formalized population and offer services critical to the survival of humans, be it feeding, beauty and aesthetics, or education.
Why the sudden growth in the number of side businesses run by career women?
Of the human species, the female race transitions more frequently both biologically and in roles. The needs of a toddler girl are significantly different from the needs of an adolescent girl, a young female adult, a mother, and a grandmother.
At each stage, women are known to interact and invest in their communities at a higher rate than their male counterparts. This implies that at each stage, it is easier for women to identify the needs of their communities and make attempts to resolve these needs.
Thus, the growing case of side businesses by career women emanates from the increasing societal needs and the desire to meet these needs.
Another reason for the sudden growth in the number of career women with side businesses is the increasing need for females to support household incomes. As global inflation increases, women in most homes are left with no other option but to augment the income of their households.
Over time, entrepreneurship through side businesses has proven to meet such needs of women, increasing their financial freedom and household incomes.
Side businesses run by women – the challenges!
Being a full-time employee with a side business requires dedication – in finances, controls, customer service, and most of all, in the type and quality of persons employed for the purpose of the business. Unfortunately, although most women do make an attempt to bridge societal needs, a lot of effort is required as juggling multiple roles could adversely limit the growth of such businesses.
Of the mentioned requirements, the most crucial is finances, be it start-up cost or working capital. Often times career women face the same bane as most entrepreneurs in the informal sector; there is little or no access to bank support leading to an overreliance on salary to commence and operate the business.
Limited financing invariably restricts the expansion of most side businesses, restraining their impact on the growth of communities. Following the challenge of limited financing, are the problems arising from lapses in controls and the unavailability of trained persons to assist in the operations of these side businesses.
Most side businesses of career women have failed because of theft and poor customer service which emanate from lapses in controls and untrained representatives of the business.
The bank – can it grow side businesses?
Yes! The bank can definitely assist. Although there has been a recent wave to address the needs of women-owned businesses, there is still much to be done.
Critical to the bank support is the need to build a database of the various types of women entrepreneurs – disaggregating data into women suppliers, women farmers, women vendors, women in services, and career women with businesses, etc…
These various categories of businesses do have distinct needs that may need to be addressed differently with varying bank products. Based on the distinct characteristics of these female-owned businesses, the banking products will vary per amount to be assessed, risk profiling, collateral requirements, repayment period, training required, etc…
A one-size-fits-all approach is not an ideal option for financial female-owned enterprises, or for encouraging financial inclusion of women. We need to create a disaggregated database that does not ignore the career woman in a side business.
Not only do these businesses contribute significantly to economic development and employment, but they create long-lasting impressions as they are mainly targeted at meeting societal needs that are only recognizable by those that can personally identify with those needs.
Also, side businesses are a growing trend and could serve as a source of revenue for financial institutions. Thus, to increase their revenues, banks are encouraged to make attempts to meet the needs of this group of business owners! Well-structured products will meet this goal.
The way forward
Overall, the impact of career women with side businesses cannot be ignored. This is a growing phenomenon that is prone to be more impactful in the near future. It is therefore crucial to harness all efforts to capitalize on the positivity of this wave.
