The digital imperative to empower women entrepreneurs

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) make up 90% of businesses worldwide and women comprise about half of the global population. Yet in low and middle-income countries, only 17% of women are entrepreneurs.

These disparities run all the way up to the C-suite in STEM, where just one in eight roles is held by a woman. Women also make up 54% of those excluded from the global economy and face more difficulties in accessing financial markets than their male counterparts. Worldwide, fewer women than men are connected to the Internet in the first place – and in least developed countries (LDCs), only three in 10 women are online.

A host of barriers, from prohibitively expensive data and devices to insufficient skills to concerns about online safety, deeply entrenched stereotypes, and a lack of visible role models in STEM, contribute to the gender digital divide.

But I believe building an inclusive, digitally skilled workforce, one MSME at a time – and strengthening those efforts with an enabling policy environment – is precisely how these barriers can be overcome.

Empowering women entrepreneurs

I’ve seen this approach work firsthand through a project called “Enhancing the digital ecosystem and digital skills for the economic empowerment of women in LDCs.”

Implemented by ITU in cooperation with the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) and the EQUALS Global Partnership, the project brought stakeholders from across the textile, apparel and agriculture industries together to tackle the systemic issues that prevent women from using digital to benefit their livelihoods and communities.

The results speak for themselves.

In Ethiopia, the focus was on supporting women entrepreneurs as they pivoted to digital – like Rebekah Daniel, who I had the pleasure of interviewing a few years ago.

Rebekah explained how the training helped her gain a deeper understanding of how to market her handbag brand online, comply with export and industry standards in fashion, and eventually expand her business internationally.

The project also came to Burundi at exactly the right time for Laetitia Akimana, a tea and coffee farmer based in Muramvya.

She told us how digital skills training “increased productivity and competitiveness compared to what we had before.”

Digital technologies and the skills to use them can be a game changer, not only for women entrepreneurs like Rebekah and Laetitia – but also for their families, communities, and national economies.

Racing against time

Next year marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, as well as the final five years of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

We are in a race against time to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UN’s latest progress report reveals just 17% of targets are on track to be achieved by 2030.

That’s why I was so excited to see the International Trade Centre (ITC) and GSMA, co-chairs of the Broadband Commission working group on Making Connectivity Work for MSMEs, partner to support small businesses in developing countries by enhancing digital skills, entrepreneurship, and policy support.

Their new partnership aims to unlock digital trade opportunities in underserved communities, with a focus on women, young people and refugees.

Capitalizing on the Global Digital Compact

With the Summit of the Future just weeks away, policy support needed at the international level is being further developed through the Global Digital Compact, which is entering the final stages of negotiations.

At the 68th Commission on the Status of Women, the UN Secretary-General highlighted the Compact’s inclusion of measures to close the gender digital divide and harness technology for the SDGs.

Previously, I joined calls for a gender-transformative approach to the Compact – with inclusion and especially gender equality at its core.

At the time of writing, Objective 2 aims to expand “inclusion in and benefits from the digital economy for all” including by fostering entrepreneurship among women, youth and other underrepresented entrepreneurs with the goal of increasing the number of digital start-ups and MSMEs in developing countries.

ITC and ITU are fully aligned on this and related objectives of the Global Digital Compact, and ready to work together to put them into action.

Because there is simply no time to lose in getting more women meaningfully connected and engaged in digital entrepreneurship.

Let’s remember that this digital imperative is within our reach – and has the potential to make all 17 SDGs a reality in the lives of women everywhere.