A fast-paced and modern society not only brings in an abundance of business opportunities but also allows anyone to start their own business for both men and women. Realistically, however, not everyone has the same chance to start their own business, especially women. To accelerate the growth and success of women-owned SMEs, CGCC specifically designed the “Women Entrepreneurs Guarantee Scheme (WEGS)”, the third credit guarantee scheme specifically designed for women and women-owned SMEs. WEGS is specifically designed for women and women-owned businesses, aiming to narrow the gap between the supply and demand for financing by providing a higher guaranteed coverage and a lower guarantee fee for all sectors with favorable credit guarantee features.
This specific credit guarantee scheme executes by providing guarantee coverage up to 80% of the principal loan amount for businesses in all types of industries that are defined as women-owned. CGCC aims to not only support local women-owned SMEs but also to increase the economic flow for Cambodia. Continue reading below to further understand the “Women Entrepreneurs Guarantee Scheme” and “How it helps women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses”.
A further inspection of the decision-making of the Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia shows strong fundamental support for women in their community and the future pathway for more women entrepreneurs in Cambodia. Although Cambodia is emerging fast from its title as a developing country, many obstacles remain with a traditional conservative mindset as one of the reasons. To get past this limitation, CGCC hopes to give the utmost support to women-owned SMEs. Eager to find out the reasons behind this third credit guarantee scheme? Find out all you need to know about women entrepreneurs in this article.
What are the benefits of entrepreneurship for women?
Growth comes from changes, and the changes in the viewpoint of entrepreneurship for a developing country as such Cambodia will have significant impacts. An additional path of nurturing women entrepreneurs alongside the support for businesses owned by men can contribute greatly to these pillars:
- Additional increase to economic activity
Fostering economic growth is an essential part of developing a country. Hence, to maximize economic activities, the role of women in entrepreneurship is a great movement to cultivate more growth in industries such as handicrafts, agricultural industries, health and wellness, and other creative fields, etc. Besides, with more skilled and dependable human resources, business ventures can create a better environment for future generations to flourish in entrepreneurship.
- Support for the communities and local products
In addition to the economy, with a more supportive system for women entrepreneurs, positive changes in the societal aspects will lead to a harmonious and supportive society. Consequently, with more women entrepreneurs on the map, social challenges such as gender inequality, gender pay gap, and the uplighting of women’s rights will also see positive changes. Besides support for the communities, this will also open up opportunities for local SMEs nurtured by women.
Why is supporting women entrepreneurs important?
Beyond the local level, creating a supportive mechanism and system for women entrepreneurs also tackles regional challenges as well. ASEAN nations in recent years have taken the contribution of women-owned SMEs to both social and economic challenges for the region. With a crafted blueprint as well as supportive programs to help the growth of women in entrepreneurship, the region will be able to close extreme gender gaps and gender inequality. Beyond this, with a guiding framework for women entrepreneurs, it can also bridge the collaboration among both genders in their entrepreneurial endeavors.
How to support women in business?
Nonetheless, having established just a framework is not sufficient in assisting the growth of women-owned businesses in Cambodia. To give full support to women entrepreneurs, here are a few ways to show support for women-owned SMEs:
- Direct Sales Support
A most supportive method for SMEs owned by women is through direct support to generate income from their businesses. With a stable revenue from their businesses, it is most likely to increase the likelihood of retaining businesses for the long run.
- Utilizing Referrals and Word-of-Mouth Marketing
An initiative to show support beyond directly shopping at local women-owned SMEs is through the exposure of the businesses. Referrals and Word-of-Mouth marketing will be very beneficial to SMEs that have low business presence, especially for SMEs owned by women.
- Creating Events and Communities
A strong community and events for women entrepreneurs as a platform to exchange ideas provide not only a supportive backbone. In addition, it is a good initiative to generate more innovative business ideas to expand across different industry fields.
- Providing Safety Financial Net Measures to Lower Risk Rate
An important step in encouraging women on their entrepreneurial journeys is by providing safe financial nets for their businesses. Since most SMEs are exposed to a high risk of failure at an early age, an assurance on their financial cash flow will create a healthier environment for the business to grow. For instance, the “Women Entrepreneurs Guarantee Scheme” initiated by CGCC is an excellent example of showing financial support by providing insurance on their business loans.
- Enabling Easy Access to Education and Skills Learning
An essential part of growth and development is through education and skill learning. Therefore, it is equally as crucial to enable easy access to education and other skills relevant to entrepreneurship and leadership.
How can women succeed in business?
Businesses aren’t as complicated to start, however, it is no easy feat to succeed in it. SMEs owned by women may run into challenges such as the lack of representatives, limited or no exposure to the entrepreneurial field, financial support, cultural and societal barriers, etc. Thus, it is important for women who plan to start their own SMEs to have concrete and well-planned out business plans as a key metric to determine their success. Depending on the nature of the business, it is important to establish milestones indicating success such as the number of sales per month, expected revenues in the first year, number of partnerships established in the first two or three years after running the business, etc.
Entrepreneurship offers creativity, diversity, innovations and the opportunities to direct one’s success. As a developing country, it is encouraged for both governmental and private institutions to support entrepreneurs, especially encouraging women entrepreneurs to take risks in having their own businesses. With a supportive framework and scheme such as CGCC’s third scheme, the Women Entrepreneurs Guarantee Scheme, we can look forward to more new innovative SMEs run by women in Cambodia. Women who have their own businesses are highly recommended to reach out to CGCC for more information on their specialized credit guarantee scheme for women-owned SMEs.
Click here to read and understand more about: Women Entrepreneurs Guarantee Scheme (WEGS)
