'Female entrepreneurs too timid'

Johannesburg - Women who see an opportunity to start their own businesses seem wary of approaching banks to raise capital.

Financiers who spoke to Fin24.com said they continue to see a low level of applications from women entrepreneurs. A number of venture capital firms also that indicated less than 15% of applications come from women.

The general view is that women tend to be too conservative about going into business for themselves.

Colette Symanowitz, local entrepreneur and founder of online MBA community MBAConnect said, anecdotal evidence seems to underscore this.

"A lot of men they want to build big businesses from the outset, whereas women tend to go into businesses which are complementary to their lifestyle," she said. This would involve women building up skills and experience in a particular industry, and then opting to go on their own when they felt comfortable.

Symanowitz said she found women more in favour of boot-strapping their small business with own and limited funding.

This view is backed up by Elizabeth Malumo, who heads up FNB's Women in Business. She said women are far too cautious when it comes to seeking financing for small businesses.

Don't be put off by lack of skills

"Women are intimidated about coming to a bank for financing," said Malumo. "They would rather save and build up their own capital for their business."

Asked what were the main factors holding women back, Malumo said there is a false perception that banks have closed financing taps for small firms.

She also said lack of financial acumen is a concern.

"Banks see women as a really good credit risk, because very often they are starting businesses for survival and are careful about how they manage their finances," Malumo said.

Women should not write themselves off if they feel they are lacking in skills, Malumo said.

While it is difficult to draw parallels between an MBA qualification and entrepreneurship, more and more women are studing towards a high-level business qualification. This could boost the ranks of female entrepreneurs.

According to Symanowitz, 37% of the MBAConnects community consists of women. This is slightly higher than the average at a number of leading academic institutions including Milpark Business School (35%), the University of the Witwatersrand Business School (33%), the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business (26%) and Management College of South Africa (30%).

With a number of MBA programmes now being aimed at entrepreneurship, this could have further positive spinoffs for women in small business.

- Fin24.com