About one in five women have sacrificed their personal relationships to focus on business as a growing number venture into entrepreneurship.
This is according to a new survey by financial services firm, Tala, which shows that 22 percent of women “have sacrificed personal relationships/personal lives to focus on the business.”
The survey found that “45.3 percent of women respondents cite the desire to be their own boss as an impetus for starting their business”.
Other women are starting businesses because they offer them the flexibility to take care of family.
More than a third of women (36 percent) report that their businesses have increased their ability to make money decisions for family and 31 percent report that because of enterprise their families now have savings.
“Twenty-two percent of women respondents report they have sacrificed personal relationships to focus on the business and an equal proportion of women respondents report they sacrificed their personal lives in order to manage their business,” it says.
The survey sought to identify the challenges and opportunities women entrepreneurs face in emerging markets, especially as it relates to accessing financial services.
Tala Kenya’s general manager, Annstella Mumbi, also noted that there are women who perceive the financial services industry to exhibit gender bias in the provision of credit and other services, which prevents some women from seeking loans.
According to the survey, about two-thirds of women said gender bias when accessing financial services was “moderate” to “extreme” in financial services.
“Should the numbers from this report be anything to go by, as players in the credit market, we must intentionally equip our female customers with knowledge and skills to enhance their strategic business ability,” Ms Mumbi said.
The survey noted that about half of women who have considered taking a loan to start a business have not.
