Looking back on the 2023 Access Bank South African Womenpreneur ‘Her Perfect Pitch’ competition, it’s clear that women of all ages, education levels and backgrounds are embracing the world of entrepreneurship – and making a difference in our country as they do so.
In the wider context, Access Bank is deeply involved in the upliftment and support of female entrepreneurs in Africa. Each year, our Womenpreneur competition invites female entrepreneurs from all countries in which Access Bank operates who have been in business for a year or more to pitch to win a cash flow injection for their startup, as well as an education voucher.
Locally, our 2023 Womenpreneur ‘Her Perfect Pitch’ competition resulted in a total of 3000 women completing their online profiles, and 539 completing their application. All our applicants are wonderfully dynamic and inspiring women who are changing th e lives of ordinary South Africans through the businesses they’re building. We analysed who they are, what kind of businesses they’re running and what industries they’re involved in. Here are seven valuable insights we drew.
1. They’ve earned their stripes
Out of our 556 entrants in 2023, more than half (57%) were over 35 years old. This implies that womenpreneurs have put in many years building their careers – whether in the same industry as their business or elsewhere. This may also be the age where they’re mothers raising families, and so they have an increased need for the freedom and flexibility that comes with entrepreneurship. Their shifting priorities as mothers may also mean they want to do work that has a deeper personal meaning. On either side of the age scale, 12% were under 30 and 2% were over 60 – which also proves that being an entrepreneur and starting your own successful business can be done at any age.
2. They operate in many industries
The spread of industries was wide ranging for our 2023 entrants, with our womenpreneurs working in everything from construction and agriculture to hospitality, IT and healthcare services. The spread of industries was far greater too: a total of 25 industries were featured in 2023, compared to just 8 in 2022. This could be a function of the overall economic downturn which has resulted in even more entrepreneurs cropping up across the board – but it could also signal the continued general trend of women moving to self-employment.
3. There’s strong female empowerment
Nearly 60% of our entrants have businesses that are 100% female owned. While this could mean they’re solopreneurs, 50% of our entrants had three or more employees. While we already know that the future is female, it’s heartening to know that there are so many full-force female businesses doing their bit to boost South Africa’s economy. This bodes well for future womenpreneurs too, who may look to these women as mentors and role models who they want to either work for or emulate.
4. The businesses are small
Among our 2023 entrants, 50% employed between 0 and 2 people, 40% employed between 3 and 9 people and only 10% employed 10 or more people. While fewer employees mean fewer overheads, it can also mean that women are opting for businesses that are more agile and better able to adapt to a dynamic marketplace. This trend towards a smaller headcount may also be due to macroeconomic factors: the 2024 OECD report, Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs, found that since 2022, SMEs have been particularly impacted by a higher cost of financing and a drop in lending and venture capital. In essence, this may make scaling a business more expensive and difficult to do, and so keeping a business small may make more economic sense.
5. Personal funding takes the lead
When it comes to funding their businesses, 73% of our entrants used friends, family, personal loans or personal savings to do so, while only a relatively small percentage used more formal investing vehicles such as angel funding or government sponsorships. This speaks to the previous point on the increasingly difficult formal funding environment globally, and could also imply that starting one’s own business is more challenging than it’s ever been in our current economic climate. Still, the fact that there were over 500 entrants shows that even in these troubled times, entrepreneurship is alive and well.
6. Most operate in larger metros
In terms of geographical spread, 60% of businesses were located in Gauteng, 10% in the Western Cape and 8% in KwaZulu-Natal. As was the case in 2022, this suggests that the larger metros are more favourable for womenpreneurs in terms of things like accessing raw material, basic infrastructure like power and water and manufacturing capabilities as well as transport networks for supplying goods and services elsewhere. However, compared to previous years, there have been increasing numbers of entrants from other smaller provinces within South Africa. This could be because the continued economic downturn has forced women located further afield to build their own business as an additional or alternative source of income. It could also speak to the trend of consumers looking for goods and services from local small businesses rather than large corporations.
7. Turnover is growing
Of the businesses who entered, only 29% had an annual turnover of R50 000 or less, which is a sharp drop from the 59% of businesses who were in this bracket in 2023. This could be due to several reasons: they have been operating for longer (only 7% of entrants have been in business for less than a year), they may be seeing an increased demand from consumers who want to buy from small businesses, or they may be meeting consumer needs better by being better able to discern what their local community’s needs for products and services are. Either way, this is a hopeful increase across the board.
Ready to seize your opportunity to shine in the entrepreneurial spotlight? Be the first to know when applications for the 2024 Womenpreneur ‘Her Perfect Pitch’ competition open. Sign up now to stay informed and ensure you don’t miss out on this opportunity to showcase your business. Don’t let your dreams wait – join us on the journey to success today!
