In Mexico, 37% of companies are founded by women; however, the lack of knowledge of the market, liquidity and time leads them to close the business, details the X-ray of entrepreneurship in Mexico 2021: women’s edition.
The study carried out by the Association of Entrepreneurs of Mexico (Asem) details that the main obstacle that women face in their businesses is the lack of knowledge of the marketwhile for men it is the lack of liquidity.
Despite the failure rate between men and women remaining similar, in them the lack of timeThis was pointed out by 26% of the interviewees who had already created a business and had to close it.
Juana Ramírez, president of the Asem explained that the responsibility that women have in the care of the children and the house It takes time for them to undertake, this responsibility “continues to be carried mostly on the shoulders of women and had important consequences during the pandemic, because the sick were also cared for by them.”
According to the World Health Organization, 97% of the sick are cared for by a woman and during the pandemic, in April 2020, of the 12 million jobs that were lost, 42% belonged to women, according to data of the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness.
Ramírez detailed thatl Salary, which is usually lower for womenwas also a factor in deciding in households who stopped working and stayed on with household responsibilities during the pandemic.
“If in your family you had to decide who stopped working to attend home school and sick, it was the women who interrupted their professional careers to attend to these needs”.
For Ramírez, equity in the culture of care continues to be a pending issue, in which public and private organizations need to enter.
Little access to venture capital and digital tools
The study presented during the Free Being Festival: women in business, carried out by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, also indicates that companies founded by women invoice 60% less than those created by men, but are profitable 13% faster. In addition, women’s businesses tend to focus on retail consumption, gastronomy, health, culture and marketing and only one in 10 on technology.
Regarding financing, 9 out of 10 start the business with their own resources and for 73% of the entrepreneurs, their main source of capital after three years of operation is profits.
Likewise, women have 50% less access than men to angel resources investors and investment funds; however, they have twice as much access to government funds as men.
The study details that 31% of women’s companies they do not have digital tools and they use personal social networks to promote their business.
Likewise, the entrepreneurs say that the simplification of business procedures and a friendlier scheme for the payment of taxes and other employer obligations are required to promote entrepreneurship.
