Catalyzing the Participation of Women-Owned Businesses in Intra- EAC Trade through Evidence-Based Policies and Programmes

Despite policy pronouncements, business women in the region continue to face challenges which constrain growth and expansion of their businesses. It is against this backdrop and with the aim of ensuring evidence- based policy advocacy on business women issues, that the East African Business Council (EABC) through the East African Women in Business Platform (EAWiBP) commissioned a regional Study in October 2012, to document barriers faced by women-owned businesses.

Some of the specific objectives of the the Study included; analysis of trade-related regulatory and legal framework at national and regional levels, analysis of gender-specific profiles and behaviors among business women that might them from growing their firms and financing gap of women-owned businesses, including perceived risks assessment by financial institutions.

A total of 87 stakeholders from across the EAC region were consulted for this Study. These included: women business owners, national and regional associations, networks or apex bodies of business women including associations and groups of Women Informal Cross Border Traders (WICBTs), women chambers of commerce, women in agribusiness, women in trade in services; financial institutions (including banks) and intermediaries (other Micro Finance Institutions- MFIs), women self-help groups and cooperative association in various sectors to gather their views on barriers affecting women businesses.

The table below shows a summary of key validated findings, recommendations and advocacy messages.

Key Findings and Conclusions	Key Recommendations and Advocacy Messages
Ineffective Implementation of Legal and Policy Frameworks. Although at the regional level key legal and policy documents acknowledge and provide for equal participation of women and men in social and economic development, there are limited road-maps, resource commitments and implementation efforts towards achieving the same.	Commit Adequate Resources to Gender Equality and Put in Place Clear Roadmaps. The EAC Secretariat should also take a lead in the harmonization of gender mainstreaming policies and strategies across the EAC for more synergy and coherency in the implementation of these frameworks.
Gender Neutral and Discriminative Legal Frameworks. These include land and inheritance laws as well as trade-related law, policies and programmes.	Reform Laws and Policies by mainstreaming gender concerns and ensuring frameworks are evidence based. The Republic of Burundi should urgently review the Code of the Person and the Family and The Penal Code, Cultural and Inheritance Law which presently discriminate against women.
Majority of Women-Owned Businesses Small in Size and Slow to Grow. Challenges affecting women businesses in region include: family obligations, limitations of investment and business related confidence, women risks averse behavior, culture, limitations on aggressiveness, approval and negative attitude from spouses, stigma associated with certain businesses, illiteracy and low education level, poor or limited business development and management skills, societal mindset, lack of freedom and independence, discrimination, harassment by administration and the general more Conservative behavior of women.	Develop and Implement National and Regional Programmes aimed at Growing Women-Owned Businesses. Establish a regional business incubation center for women and youth.
Inadequate knowledge on EAC’s Trade Regime and Regulatory Frameworks which hinder theirs effective participation intra-EAC trade.	Increase sensitization on EAC’s Integration process and EAC’s Trade Regime and Regulatory Framework. This should be done through different programmes and interventions, using easily comprehensible language and format.
Partial Inclusion of business women in trade negotiations and policy development. Governments are increasingly including women as a part of delegations on trade negotiations but there is limited trickle down of such information at firm level.	Enhance Inclusion of Business Women in Policy and Negotiations Fora. Enhance business women participation in Public-Private Dialogues as well as regional and national Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) Monitoring and Elimination Framework and Common Market Implementation Framework.

Borrowed form East Africa Business Council Website