The author, Jewel N. Thompson, MBA, is a Lecturer in the Economics and Business Administration Department at Ashesi University where she leads the Entrepreneurship concentration and the Foundations of Design & Entrepreneurship course.
Despite Africa having one of the highest rates of female entrepreneurship in the world, women-led businesses remain disproportionately smaller, underfunded, and often constrained to low-profit sectors. While access to capital dominates conversations about women’s economic participation, financial limitations are just one piece of a much larger puzzle. If we are serious about unlocking Africa’s economic potential, we must address the structural, social, and systemic barriers that limit women entrepreneurs from scaling their businesses. Last year, I spoke on two panels focused on access to finance for women-owned businesses in Africa. My fellow panelists and I shared a common sentiment: When will this stop being a topic for discussion? However, during my second engagement—an inclusive finance forum in Northern Ghana—I gained a deeper understanding of the persistent, multi-layered challenges that make this an ongoing challenge.
The Information Gap
For many women in Africa—particularly in rural communities—the challenge begins with access to information. While numerous initiatives exist to support women entrepreneurs, from gender-smart funding vehicles to financial literacy programs, these opportunities remain out of reach for many of the women they aim to serve. Unlike their male counterparts, women entrepreneurs often lack the networks and centralized access points where crucial business intelligence circulates. Programs such as ABSA Banking’s partnership with the International Trade Commission offer financial literacy and funding options, yet knowledge of such programs is limited in many entrepreneurial communities. It is not enough for these opportunities to exist; they must be deliberately and strategically be disseminated to ensure women can access them.
Structural and Social Constraints
Even when women are aware of available opportunities, external constraints continue to hinder their ability to scale. Many operate in financial systems that are not designed to meet their needs. The absence of credit markets and insurance mechanisms prevents them from taking on higher risk, higher-reward ventures. Research conducted by the WorldBank indicated that the lack of childcare support and flexible labor structures forces many women to make trade-offs between their businesses and their personal responsibilities, limiting their ability to reinvest time and effort into growth. Women entrepreneurs are not merely optimizing for profit—they are navigating multiple, intersecting barriers that force them to maximize survival over expansion. Without structural reforms that address these market difficulties, women will continue to bear the brunt of an economic system that demands their participation but fails to support their growth.
