Women Entrepreneurs in Pakistan

Women Entrepreneurs in Pakistan PDF Author: Nabeel A. Goheer
Publisher: International Labour Office
ISBN: 9789221136286
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 104

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Book Description
This report is the outcome of a research study initiated and financed by the ILO with the aim of better understanding Pakistani women entrepreneurs and their problems. It offers a portrayal of the specific business environment for women in this country and shows how a complex interplay of different factors has resulted in the disadvantaged status of women in society thus restricting their mobility, economic participation and business activity. The book includes the results of a survey undertaken in the region of 150 women entrepreneurs and follows with a set of recommendations. Narrative stories of 20 selected women entrepreneurs from various economic backgrounds, diverse family set-ups, and different professions are also included.

Women Entrepreneurs in Pakistan

Women Entrepreneurs in Pakistan PDF Author: Nabeel A. Goheer
Publisher: International Labour Office
ISBN: 9789221136286
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 104

Get Book Here

Book Description
This report is the outcome of a research study initiated and financed by the ILO with the aim of better understanding Pakistani women entrepreneurs and their problems. It offers a portrayal of the specific business environment for women in this country and shows how a complex interplay of different factors has resulted in the disadvantaged status of women in society thus restricting their mobility, economic participation and business activity. The book includes the results of a survey undertaken in the region of 150 women entrepreneurs and follows with a set of recommendations. Narrative stories of 20 selected women entrepreneurs from various economic backgrounds, diverse family set-ups, and different professions are also included.

The Future of Microfinance

The Future of Microfinance PDF Author: Ira W. Lieberman
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 0815737645
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 493

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Book Description
A major source of financing for the poor and no longer a niche industry Over the past four decades, microfinance—the provision of loans, savings, and insurance to small businesses and entrepreneurs shut out of traditional capital markets—has grown from a niche service in Bangladesh and a few other countries to a significant global source of financing. Some 200 million people globally now receive support from microfinance institutions, with most of the recipients in the developing world. In the beginning, much of the microfinance industry was managed by non-governmental organizations, but today the majority of these institutions are commercial and regulated by governments, and they provide safe places for the poor to save, as well as offering much-needed capital and other financial services. Now out of infancy, the microfinance industry faces major challenges, including its ability to deal with mobile banking and other technology and concerns that some markets are now over-saturated with microfinance. How the industry deals with these and other challenges will determine whether it will continue to grow or will be subsumed within the larger global financial sector. This book is based on the results of a workshop at Lehigh University among thirty-four leaders in the industry. The editors, working with contributions from more than a dozen leading authorities in the field, tell the important story of how microfinance developed, how it has met the needs of hundreds of millions of people, and they address key questions about how it can continue to meet those needs in the future.

Are Pakistan's Women Entrepreneurs Being Served by the Microfinance Sector?

Are Pakistan's Women Entrepreneurs Being Served by the Microfinance Sector? PDF Author: Mehnaz Safavian
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821399330
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 81

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Book Description
Financial services are important for women who are starting and growing a business, but in Pakistan microfinance providers (MFPs) are not reaching Pakistan’s businesswomen. Only 59 percent of microfinance clients are women, yet the majority of these loans are passed on the male members of the household – husbands, fathers, and sons. The practice of passing on loans to male household members is quite widespread; women may be bearing all the transaction costs and risks of accessing loans, but are not the final beneficiaries. Second, a very low proportion of female microfinance clients are entrepreneurs. The report explores why businesswomen in Pakistan may not be using microfinance products to meet their start-up and working capital requirements, in spite of identifying access to finance as a key constraint to their business operations. Against this backdrop, access to finance remains the biggest challenge for a woman who wants to start or grow a business. Yet less than a quarter of the entrepreneurs identified through business development service providers were currently borrowing from microfinance lenders. Even among those entrepreneurs that borrow, dissatisfaction is high. Why? Women borrower-entrepreneurs are not able to access individual loan products, but instead are consistently relegated to group lending. But group loans are very costly for a woman who is running a business, and the loans are too small to fulfill working capital needs. Businesswomen are rarely given the opportunity to access individual loan products, which are usually offered exclusively to male borrowers, and women are not given opportunities to graduate from group loans to individual loans over time. Lending practices often are discriminatory, requiring husbands’ permission, male guarantors, and unmarried women are rarely considered as potential clients. Although MFIs understand that women’s inclusion is integral to the objectives of microfinance, the practice of passing on loans raises serious issues about consumer protection for women clients, and the best and most effective solutions to these challenges could and should come from the sector itself. Designing better products that reach the needs of emerging women entrepreneurs could prove to be good business, achieving double bottom-line objectives. Investing in financial literacy and education of both men and women borrowers can help curb the demand for pass-through loans and help lower risks associated with deceptive practices.

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship PDF Author: Sílvio Manuel Brito
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN: 9535139630
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 172

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Book Description
Entrepreneurship is a powerful attitude that, in such a way, in the last few years, has become a discipline increasingly transversal to different areas of knowledge. Many times, we think about the things we want such as a good house, a brand new car, a beautiful relationship, a good friendship, and a good way to be in the world. Is that possible that you convert into an entrepreneur? This book shows some examples of that possibility, from simple people to a big organization. In all cases, if you become an entrepreneur, it will be for your taste and pleasure, a means to survive and enjoy the uncertainty, and rejoice that you have all these in your hands and will. Can you find out the trends and overcome the challenges? We would say yes. It all depends on whether you want to develop and apply this attitude.

The Emerald Handbook of Women and Entrepreneurship in Developing Economies

The Emerald Handbook of Women and Entrepreneurship in Developing Economies PDF Author: Shahamak Rezaei
Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing
ISBN: 1800713266
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
The Emerald Handbook of Women and Entrepreneurship in Developing Economies examines women's role in entrepreneurial practices in a range of developing countries and applies unique strategic contextual frameworks to analyse, interpret and understand individual processes, themes and issues.

Women, Business and the Law

Women, Business and the Law PDF Author: The World Bank
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1472906454
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 199

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Book Description
Women perform 66% of the world's work, produce 50% of the food, but earn 10% of the income and own 1% of the property. To shed light on why this grim statistic still holds true, Women, Business and the Law aims to examine legal differentiations on the basis of gender in 143 of the world's economies. Women, Business and the Law tracks governments' actions to expand economic opportunities for women across six key areas: accessing institutions, using property, getting a job, providing incentives to work, building credit and going to court. The report uncovers legal differentiations for women and married versus unmarried women such as being able to register a business, open a bank account and work at night. These issues are of fundamental importance. When, because of tradition, social taboos or simple prejudice, half of the world's population is prevented from making its contribution to the life of a nation, the economy will suffer. The empirical evidence does suggest that, slowly but surely, governments are making progress in expanding opportunities for women. It is our hope that data presented in Women, Business and the Law will both facilitate research on linkages between legal differentiation and outcomes for women, and promote better informed policy choices on what governments can do to expand opportunities for women.

New Pathways Out of Poverty

New Pathways Out of Poverty PDF Author: Sam Daley-Harris
Publisher: Kumarian Press
ISBN: 1565494385
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
"Published in association with The National Teaching and Learning Forum."

Women's Control Over Economic Resources and Access to Financial Resources, Including Microfinance

Women's Control Over Economic Resources and Access to Financial Resources, Including Microfinance PDF Author:
Publisher: United Nations Publications
ISBN: 9789211302752
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 114

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Book Description
Ensuring women's economic empowerment and access to and control over resources requires an integrated approach to growth and development, focused on gender-responsive employment promotion and informed by the interdependency between economic and social development. Social objectives need to be incorporated into economic policies. Economic growth strategies should give attention to the real economy and focus on creating a gender-sensitive macroeconomic environment, full employment and decent work, access to land, property and other productive resources as well as financial services, and full coverage of social protection measures. The Survey outlines a number of concrete recommendations in these critical areas, which if adopted, will facilitate women's equitable access to and control over economic and financial resources.

Feminine Capital

Feminine Capital PDF Author: Barbara Orser
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 0804794316
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
Today, there are over 200,000,000 women business owners around the world. Many of these entrepreneurs are not doing business as usual, nor are they simply leaning in. Rather, they are tapping into feminine capital—the unique skills and sensibilities that they have cultivated as women—to create enviable successes. Drawing on four decades of award-winning research, Feminine Capital reveals how women are harnessing different approaches to doing business. Barbara Orser and Catherine Elliott detail the pillars of feminine capital and offer new insight into the ways that gender can influence entrepreneurial decision-making. They find that leveraging feminine capital can help women to create distinctive brands, build new markets, and drive profits—all while leveling the playing field in business. In doing so, women are changing our social and economic landscape, one venture at a time. Dispelling myths and misperceptions that can undermine women-owned ventures, this book takes a fresh look at how female entrepreneurs can leverage their skills, knowledge, and values. Case studies of women entrepreneurs bring key concepts and lessons to life, while learning aids, diagnostic tools, and checklists help readers to construct innovative business models, refine start-up plans, and hone growth strategies.

Bringing Finance to Pakistan's Poor

Bringing Finance to Pakistan's Poor PDF Author: Tatiana Nenova
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 082138032X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
Although access to financing in Pakistan is expanding quickly, it is two to four times lower than regional benchmarks. Half of Pakistani adults, mostly women, do not engage with the financial system at all, and only 14 percent have access to formal services. Credit for small- and medium-size enterprises is rationed by the financial system. The formal microfinance sector reaches less than 2 percent of the poor, as opposed to more than 25 percent in neighboring countries. Yet it is the micro- and small businesses, along with remittances, that help families escape the poverty trap and participate in the economy. 'Bringing Finance to Pakistan s Poor' is based on a pioneering and comprehensive survey and dataset that measures the access to financial products by Pakistani households. The survey included 10,305 households in all areas of the country, excluding the tribal regions. The accompanying CD contains summary statistics. The authors develop a picture of access to and usage of financial services across the country and across different population groups, and they identify policy and regulatory priorities. Reform measures in Pakistan have been timely, but alone are not enough; financial institutions have lagged behind in adopting technology, segmenting customer bases, diversifying products, and simplifying processes and procedures. Gender bias and low levels of financial literacy remain barriers, as is geographical remoteness. However, the single strongest cause of low financial access is lack of income not location, education, or even gender. 'Bringing Finance to Pakistan s Poor' will be of great interest to readers working in the areas of business and finance, economic policy, gender and rural development, and microfinance.