THEME: Poorer rural women’s microenterprises have certain characteristics in common with, and notable differences from, those of men.

Most of the customers of rural financial services in Ghana are small or very small (‘micro’) business owners who operate in the informal sector. This group of businesses is very large in Ghana, probably employing 25-33% of the working population. Out of these, about 60-80% are located in rural areas. A majority of these enterprises are women owned and operated. It is estimated that three quarters of Ghanaian households depend on these small and microenterprises for at least half of the household’s income.

Poorer rural women tend to operate the very small or ‘micro’ enterprises. A popular one is raising poultry or livestock such as goats. In northern Ghana, an estimated 70% of women own livestock or poultry, which may serve family food and income functions. Women all over Ghana also process oil from palm, coconut, groundnuts and shea nuts. Other common businesses are: dry-season vegetable farming, batik-printing, basket and mat-making, soap-making, fish-smoking, cassava-processing, pitoh-brewing and petty trading. Women may also process wild fruits, such as that of locust trees, into a spice called dawa dawa. In certain areas, women make pottery. In some parts, such as the north, shea butter extraction is a common activity. Gender and cultural taboos can dictate the types of activities women (or men) select.

Rural women’s microenterprises share certain characteristics:

• Ninety-five percent of female owners of businesses are illiterate.
• Few operators have adequate business skills or know-how.
• The main problem mentioned by women small entrepreneurs was market demand, with access to raw materials and intermediate inputs also frequently mentioned as problems.

• Women’s businesses tend to be more traditional than men’s, which is a way of limiting the businesses’ risk.
• Most of the businesses require low capital input and are labour intensive.
• Women’s businesses are likely to be smaller than men’s.
• The profitability of women’s enterprises is lower than for the sector as a whole.
• Women tend to build up their business more gradually, often starting at a very low ‘trial’ level.
• When women take out start-up loans, they tend to be smaller than men’s.
• Women, and especially women with young children, give preference to businesses they can operate out of their homes, which allows them to combine childcare with their businesses.
• Women tend to rely more on local markets, for a number of reasons, including their dual responsibility, workloads, problems with travelling and because of cultural norms.
• Women are more likely to diversify their businesses, sometimes switching from one to the other according to what appears profitable, or conducting as many as four or five different operations concurrently to limit risk.
• Women have a greater preference for working in groups than do men.

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