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| In 1995 the first women business association in Egypt was established followed by several other associations such as: |
| 1-Women Business Egypt Association | | 2-Women Business Reform | | 3-Women Business association for Development | | 4-Egyptian Women Business Association | | 5-Menoufia Women Business Association | | 6-Assiut Women Business Association | | 7-Menya Women Business Association | | 8-Sharkia Women Business Association | | 9-Banha Women Business Association | | 10-Alexandria Women Business Association | | 11-Mansoura Women Business Association | | 12-Suez Women Business Association | | 13-Tenth of Ramadan Women Business Association | | 14-South Sinai Women Business Association | | 15-Aswan Women Business Association | | 16-Beheira Women Business Association | | 17-Kafr El-Sheikh Women Business Association | | 18-New Valley Women Business Association | | 19-Egyptian Business Investor Association | | 20-Communitys' Women Association for Import | | 21-Egyptian Association for Marketing and Development | | 22-Arab Alliance for Women Association in Menoufia |
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| Adapt a suitable economic situation to help business women to overcome their obstacles in labor market and play their role in the development process. |
| Provide consultation, technical and legal services for business women. |
| Attend international and national conferences. |
| Raise awareness of business women through some lectures and seminars. |
| Address problems of business women to find solutions. |
| Support SME's projects (small micro enterprise project). |
| Establish Information Centers and IT Program. | Women business associations are a new worldwide trend to support the needs of women entrepreneurs. They are an economic and political recognition of women in business. Membership development through more active and empowered membership. |
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| Source: (Nassar, H. 2000) |
| | Women business organizations can provide access, organization and advocacy, training, fundraising and networking as follows |
| | | Women's business organizations offer access to sources of credit, training, international trade fairs, as well as access to the more basic skills of operations management and marketing. In addition women's business organization can also provide access to information for identifying markets. They can provide businesswomen with important industry information and data needed for marketing. | Organization | Women' business organizations are a means to organize women within the business community identifying their interests and then advocating for them. These organizations grow in importance when women opportunities and needs grow. Hence, business organizations need to expand and develop their capabilities and services accordingly to be able to meet businesswomen growing needs.
| Advocacy | Successfully targeted advocacy is critical if women are to overcome the institutional formal and informal constraints that continue to undermine their contribution to economic life. Advocacy can empower women-owned firms. It can change laws that hold women back from business' ownership and undermine their ability to use collateral to obtain financing. Advocacy is needed to make women's business flourish and grow. | Training | Business associations can help in offering and funding managerial training . | Networking | It is essential to expand women's business to the whole society. | Organizational fundraising | The most important objective of women's organizations is to develop strategies for cost recovery as well as for self financing to grow independent from donor agency support. (CIPE, 2000) |
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| | This section presents a pilot survey on businesswomen in Egypt as published in Nassar, H., et al. 1999 |
| | Age Characteristics |
| | While participation rates for women in economic activities reaches its peak in the age bracket 15-25 years, businesswomen are mainly concentrated in the age bracket 25-35 years. This means that women running or willing to be businesswomen are older than the general picture of employed females as this latter category (the majority of working females) enters the labor market in relatively earlier age categories. To start business capital, connections, experience and talents are needed. |
| | Age of women in business | Age Categories | Businesswomen (%) | Willing to be Businesswomen (%) | 20-25 | 3.8 | 23.1 | 25-30 | 0 | 15.4 | 30-35 | 7.69 | 0 | 35-40 | 15.38 | 23.07 | 40-45 | 23.077 | 38.46 | 45-50 | 7.69 | 0 | 50-55 | 7.69 | 0 | 55-60 | 34.61 | 0 | Total | 100.00 | 100 |
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| | The majority of women in business and more than half of those who want to be businesswomen have a university or above university degree. |
| | Educational status of business women | Educational Status | Businesswomen (%) | Willing to be Businesswomen (%) | Illiterate | 0 | 7.7 | Read and write only | 3.6 | 0 | General preparatory | 3.6 | 7.7 | General secondary | 3.6 | 0 | Technical Secondary | 0 | 23.1 | Intermediate institute | 0 | 7.7 | University or above university | 89.3 | 53.8 | Total | 100.00 | 100 |
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| | Marital Status |
| | Most businesswomen are married and one tenth of them are widowed. It was expected to find a higher proportion of the women willing to be businesswomen single as their average age is younger. |
| | Marital status of businesswomen | | Businesswomen (%) | Willing to be Businesswomen (%) | Single | 0 | 15.4 | Engaged | 3.6 | 7.7 | Married | 78.6 | 76.9 | Divorced | 7.1 | 0 | Widowed | 10.7 | 0 | Total | 100.00 | 100 |
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| | Type of projects or economic activities |
| | Production, services and advertisement are the main activities for businesswomen, while production activities are the aim for women who want to start business.
Most women choose their economic activity because it is suitable for their study and interests, while others chose it because they have experience in this field of activity or enjoy support of their families
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| | Economic activities of female businesses | Actual or desired economy activity | Businesswomen (%) | Willing to be Businesswomen (%) | Production | 25.8 | 69.2 | Services | 9.6 | 15.3 | Trade | 22.6 | 7.7 | Advertisement | 22.6 | 0 | Multidisciplinary | 9.7 | 0 | Others | 9.7 | 7.7 | Total | 100.00 | 100 |
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| | Women in production activities work mainly in agricultural activities and in the area of food industry and ready made clothes, while women in service business work mainly in tourism activities or have a financial or monetary business, which are also the desired areas for women willing to start new business. |
| | Nature of production activities of businesswomen | Nature of production activity | Businesswomen (%) | Willing to be Businesswomen (%) | Planting and Agriculture | 27.27 | 6.7 | Metal industry | 4.55 | 6.7 | Food industry | 18.18 | 33.3 | Ready made clothes industry | 13.64 | 13.3 | Wood and furniture industry | 4.55 | 6.7 | Paper and industry | 4.55 | 0 | Chemical industries | - | 6.7 | Others | 27.27 | 26.7 | Total | 100.00 | 100 |
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| Nature of service activities of businesswomen | What is the nature of the service activity? | Businesswomen (%) | Willing to be Businesswomen (%) | Tourism | 25 | 9.09 | Transportation | 12.5 | 9.1 | Providing raw materials | 0 | 18.2 | Finance | 12.5 | 9.1 | Monetary | 18.8 | 0 | Personal services | 25 | 27.37 | Others | 6.3 | 27.3 | Total | 100.00 | 100 |
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| | Source of finance for women in business |
| | Women rely mainly on their own sources in financing their business, which constitute 67.9% of the finance for this sample, while loans and the gameya systems are their second and third option. For new businesswomen, loans are of the first priority. |
| | Sources of finance for businesswomen | What are your sources of finance? | Businesswomen (%) | Willing to be Businesswomen (%) | Self-finance | 67.9 | 13.3 | Loan | 14.3 | 60 | Gameya | 10.7 | 6.7 | Sale of things | 0 | 6.7 | Others | 7.1 | 13.3 | Total | 100.00 | 100 |
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| Create a better business environment. |
| Enhance productivity in the exportable commodity sectors. |
| Transparency and corporate governance. |
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| | IT and information |
| | Master technology. | | Establish a Data Bank for SMEs. | | Provide Market information database to guide investment. |
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| | Education and Training |
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| Provide proper education to develop commitment. |
| Raise awareness among youth and disseminating success stories using different media facilities. |
| Establish training centers for workers. An institute for training management that offers feasibility studies and provides factual data and statistics is important. This institute should be funded by business enterprises, which would then employ the graduates of the institute. | | Combination of training in handicrafts with literacy classes |
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| | Production requirements |
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| Provide a guide for entrepreneurs in Egypt so that young people do not duplicate projects that are "successful" and thereby flood the market. |
| Establish a center for clothes manufacturers to advise on styles and fashions,and products that are marketable. |
| Standardization of sizes and measures. |
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| | Finance |
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| Lack of banking facilities and difficult custom rules are the main constraints mentioned by business women. |
| Access to a revolving loan fund. |
| Funding for various projects by outlining business plans |
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| | Marketing |
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| Quality control is important in order to be able to compete with imports. |
| Establishment of marketing centrals. | | |
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| | More Links |
| Women Entrepreneurs in the Global Economy |
