Give women entrepreneurs their due

Micro, small and medium enterprises are repeatedly being mentioned as economic saviors, hope for economic development and a form of employment creation to assist in contributing to a countries gross domestic product.

No economy can overlook 50% of its workforce, if we say that the Mauritian population is made up of over 51% females, therefore, somehow, some way, over 5% of the workforce will be female. With a global economic climate of constant changes in the working environment and downsizing of many sectors across the board, it appears women once again are the first to lose out on the job market.

The Mauritian economy is a strong resilient economy which so far has withstood well the economic crises, however, only recently, it was mentioned unemployment is on the increase and amongst this group women and youth make up the largest segment.

Recent study has shown that several factors have contributed to encouraging women in Mauritius to become entrepreneurs amongst these being, challenges in the workforce they feel there is lack of career advancement (the glass ceiling syndrome), organizational dynamics, family concerns, a sudden change in their lifestyle or simply, they have an idea and would like to pursue this for themselves, the attractions of entrepreneurship.

Already, women entrepreneurs are established in the Mauritian culture, as at the beginning of 2014, there are 4,700 women entrepreneurs registered with the National Women Entrepreneur Council. Who can decide to become an entrepreneur? In reality, anyone can. It is important to identify your skills, past work experience, knowledge and training which can be of help as the basis to running your own business, your interests, personal qualities, what are you good at?  Evaluate yourself, what are your strengths and weaknesses

In Mauritius there are several institutions which are there to assist women to become entrepreneurs, the NWEC being one of them.

They hold training courses to enable women to learn the right concepts of entrepreneurship, it is not like studying for a diploma or degree, many women entrepreneurs have s쳮d without any formal qualifications.

Registering a business at the Registrar of Companies will provide you with a Business Registration number (BRN). This is your proof that you are now an entrepreneur. Every women registered with the NWEC must produce her BRN to enable her to become a member.

Choose the business structure, will it be a sole enterprise, i.e. you are the sole owner and trader, do you prefer a partnership with two or more directors, or domestic company (a company incorporated in Mauritius and has one resident local director)

Selecting a business name, the Registrar of Companies has a data base of names. Ensure the name you select has not already been taken. Think what the name reflects, what image it will create in the minds of the public, who are after all your potential customers.

When registering the company, apart from the name, the entrepreneur must also have in mind the general nature of the business, location, proposed date of commencement, workforce (if any). Maybe though, one should remember, it is always a good idea to conceptualize the road map for the business. It is important to assess yourself as an entrepreneur and then assess the idea which you have.

Following the registration of the business name, as a sole trader, operating under one’s own name or a trade name, the entrepreneur can now apply to their local authority for a business and land use permit. There is also a trade fee to pay to the same institution, Municipality/District council. For a partnership, it is slightly different as a formal document will need to be drawn up by those applying for registration of the company, this document will set the rules for running the company.

With this information in hand, prepare a business plan to describe the way in which the business activities will be carried out, by whom with a time frame and budget.

Being an entrepreneur is a challenging experience, but can be very enriching in every facet of the word if one is determined to make the enterprise work, is not afraid of taking risks, hard work, should know every aspect where possible of the jobs undertaken within the enterprise and be available at all times.