Promoting Women's Empowerment in Africa

Abstract

This paper examines the gender differentiated growth patterns and constraints to growth of women's and men's small scale enterprises. It briefly presents the various gender-related obstacles to the growth of women's enterprises and proposes policy and legal reforms to bring about change in women's access to assets. It also emphasizes the need to look at promoting women's economic empowerment from a multi-sectoral perspective and the need to integrate various economic, social and cultural elements in developing projects that seek to develop MSEs. Moreover, it highlights the need for the poverty reduction initiatives to target beyond increasing household income and reducing poverty and seek the growth of MSEs. It is hoped that the paper contribute to discussions related to MSE development and women's economic empowerment.