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Supporting Women Entrepreneurs

25 November 2004

Sarmite Bulte MP who heads Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin's Task Force on Women Entrepreneurship
Ms Sarmite Bulte MP, who heads Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin's Task Force on Women Entrepreneurship.
"Supporting women entrepreneurs is about sustainable growth. It is not about subsidy, it is about investment," said Sarmite Bulte, Canadian Member of Parliament, at a Commonwealth Business Women's Network (CBWN) seminar on 12 November 2004.

'Promoting Entrepreneurship: Sharing Best Practice' in London, UK, was part of CBWN's efforts to encourage dialogue among various parties supporting women entrepreneurs. CBWN's main objective is to create a platform for networking among women entrepreneurs.

Ms Bulte, who heads Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin's Task Force on Women Entrepreneurship, said its research had shown that women in Canada were creating business at twice the rate of men. She said: "Seventy-four per cent of gross domestic product is based on the services sector and 86 per cent of women businesses are in the services sector."

She noted, however, that "there are barely any women on public sector boards". Canada's Export Development Corporation, she stated, has only one woman on its 15-member board of directors. "Women do not belong to the same networks or clubs as men. They need to move into these."

The seminar was attended by more than 50 delegates including Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the United Republic of Tanzania, Rita Mlaki, representatives from Cameroon, South Africa, Uganda and Tanzania, intermediary organisations supporting women entrepreneurs, businesswomen and academics. One outcome of the event is CBWN's intention to start an online discussion forum on issues related to women entrepreneurship.

Discussions were held on ways to promote women entrepreneurs, methods to encourage the growth of small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs), and the role of SMMEs in sustainable development.

CNIS - the Commonwealth News and Information Service - Issue 211 - 24 November 2004

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