Female entrepreneurs need encouragement along with financial support
Encouragement comes next to flexible credit among the requests of female entrepreneurs, according to a recent survey, which also revealed a number of interesting factors affecting women who start their own businesses in Turkey.
The survey supported by Garanti Bank was conducted under the coordination of Professor Y?ld?z Ecevit from the Middle East Technical University's (ODTÜ) Women Studies.
The survey showed the most important problems women faced while setting up a business were finding financial capital, dealing with the civil service, being a women and finding a balance between work and family duties.
Ecevit said the aim of the survey conducted in 15 cities with 304 participants was to determine the profile of female entrepreneurs, as there was confusion about who they really were and the challenges they faced.
According to the survey, the age of female entrepreneurs ranged from 22 to 68. A total of 32.66 percent of female entrepreneurs were 40 years old or older, and a significant number of them had already taken party in the labor force before starting their own business.
Family duties were a reason many women set up their businesses later in life, according to the researchers, as many of them would not dare to start a business due to family responsibilities like child care.
The survey also revealed the level of education was high among women entrepreneurs, with some 61 percent graduating from university. The rate of marriage was also high among women who have started their own businesses. In Turkey, only 28 percent of the women in the labor force were married. Marriage is considered an important factor that prevents female participation in the work force. Yet, some 72 percent of the women entrepreneurs...
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