Transcript Document

Female
Entrepreneurship in
Põlvamaa:
A Case of Estonia
RURAL WOMENS’
ENTREPRENEURSHIP 2002
Kajaani, Kainuu region, FINLAND,
30.IX-1.X 2002
Anu Laas
[email protected]
Female Entrepreneurship in Estonia
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In the beginning
Couple of women have said in the
beginning of Materra project:
I am nobody.
Many women write in CV:
(ten years: no skills, duties listed)
Have been domestic (kodune).
Female Entrepreneurship in Estonia
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Estonia 1992-2002: Positive
 Own currency kroon in 1992
 Privatization and liberal development of
economy
 High investments into ICT sector
 Opennes of economy, culture
 New challenges and possibilities
Female Entrepreneurship in Estonia
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Estonia 1992-2002: Negative
 Restructuring of economy and labour
market – high human cost
 New social patterns: unemployment,
stratification, poverty, exclusion
 Declining social capital (trust to
institutions and joining assocations)
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Status of women
 Estonian population 1,361,242, out of
which 53,9% women (01.01.2002)
 Declining birth rate
 Employment rate for working age women
62,5%
 Employment rate for working age men
68,1%
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Gender equality
 Constitution, Article 12
 CEDAW; ILO 100 ratified
 There is no special gender equality
legislation (Gender Equality Act arrived
to Riigikogu, readings near ONE YEAR)
 Why to promote women? Women are
stronger than men. Women live longer
11 years etc
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Poverty and feminization of
poverty
Estonian high official:
Poverty has face.
Face of a woman with child.
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Commercial register: 77,1100
(1,3 million total population)


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
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public limited company (AS)
7,733
private limited company (OÜ)
46,936
commercial association (ühistu)
921
general partnership (TÜ)
314
limited partnership (UÜ)
569
sole trader (FIE)
20,287
branch of foreign company
350
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Lack of data
 Two third of sole traders are registered
only in local tax offices
 Third sector can be an employer
(number of NPO and NGOs 17,523)
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Women as business owners
 Widely exist denial that women business
owners are target group
 Nobody knows how many women in
business
 Registers are imcomplete
 Name on B-card or as a member of
advisory board do not reflect real actors
 In 2001 about 13,000 females on B-card
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Why to start own business
Very often starting own business and
establishment of firm is a result of
occasion rather than longlasting
fulfilling dream (Ojasson 2001,
Äripäev).
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Starting own business
 In privatisation women were loosers
 Lack of savings, no investments
 Lack of experiences from private
business
 Lack of experiences to be company
managers
 Lack of self-confidence
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Why?
Unemployment and low paid workplaces
motivates to start own business
Desire to help yourself, to support own
family
To try yourself. To be somebody. To be
useful. (Nobody said: a self-made woman)
To achieve economic independence and
social security
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What is needed to start with
business?
 Moral support (self-confidence, basic
business skills, risk management)
 Business idea – development and
preparing a business plan
 Monetary support: seed money to start
 Business advice (starting a firm, the first
months and years) should be accessible
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Gaps
 Gender stereotypes and traditional gender roles
 women’s place, women’s work, male
breadwinner model
 Attitudes about success, growth (money!)
 Successful enterprise gets profit and creates
workplaces
 Low income, high taxes – no income support to
entrepreneurs
 Low purchase power of clients in own region
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Obstacles
 Care for children and elderly
 Poor transportation
 Care for domestic animals
 If away, who takes care for business?
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Bridges
 Projects
 Self-help groups and societies
 Introducing business rutines
 Training and business advisory service
accessible (place and price - Põlva and
Räpina)
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Training: Positive
 In recent years more courses near to
home on project basis
 Training of rural women has been
successful – new businesses created
 Couple of women from same commune –
sharing a car, study material
 Training group gives support, networking
– Materra group is GREAT
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Training: Negative
 On national level rural women are not
recognised as great resource and asset
 Lack of good and easy to read business
literature, examples of business plans for
(rural, different) businesses
 Trainers are often far from practice
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Social networks
 The Põlva Business Promotion Centre – giving
information about national support system
 The Räpina Business Incubator offers training,
advice (incubation)
 Known, visible and accepted
 Networks: Materra, community partnership,
village movement, rural tourism
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Women in rural development
 More women from year to year in local
councils
 Women from Põlvamaa become visible
and well-known on national level
 Some examples: Inge Hirmo, Eela Jää,
Inara Luigas, Kaire Mets, Signe
Zupsmann, Marina Tolmik
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Family, femininity and
enterprising
 Women should be not too independent
 Strong women are perceived masculine
 Interests of family members the first
 Ignoring own interests, loosing a ground
 Family can be supportive, but also
destructive for women’s business
 Domestic work can be relaxing
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Logical, but out of logic
Female entrepreneur:
This is for free, because I will do this myself
That will be free of charge, because my
husband builds it himself
This will cost nothing, bacause my children
can be service providers during the
summer
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Mixing cash, feelings, future
Mother: I have started. I have bought all
this staff. This is all to my children. I have
prepared all this for them. They are not
interested. They are ignorant.
Daughter says to mother: Mom, it is time to
start your own.
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Small women’s ideas are great
 Accepting also ideas where business is
‘poor’, and not fastly growing
(community businesses – children,
culture, care work etc)
 Need for seed money
 Incubating and caring, discussing ideas
 Giving moral support promotes selfconfidence
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Regions will survive
 People are the most important tourism
attraction – homemakers, crafts(wo)men,
cooks, artists
 Ideas make visibility (a book of Setu
recipes is a bestseller)
 Ideas can change attitudes and prejudice
 More visitors to Põlvamaa
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Expectation to support system
More support and clear requirements from
institution who ‘gives’ money
 Examples of perfect business plans etc
 Clear rules
 Clear rutines
Micro crediting is needed
One door for rural entrepreneur (today different
ministries have OWN system)
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Materra: a success story
 New businesses, new life for women
 Homes and life in villages
 Networking is a process
 Project is persons and business is
relationships
 Women in group are great
 Kaire Mets is great
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Conclusion
 Problems of rural women in Estonia are similar
to those in Finland and Italy
 The Soviet heritage: women’s forced
employment, good education, ‘business is bad’
 Discourse that women are strong. Poor men,
weak men discourse
 Materra project shows that there is a need for
support, training, network initiator or
‘manager’
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I have got money for
investment. When I
started, I was nobody.
Now I am sole trader.
I made decisions with
project support.
I am satisfied.
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