Oecd Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Competitiveness and Private Sector Development Women in Business: Policies to Support Women's Entrepreneurship Development in the Mena Region Oecd Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

This publication provides an overview of approaches and measures in MENA-OECD Investment Programme economies to promote, support and advance women's entrepreneurship development in the Middle East and North Africa. It covers such issues as access to credit and business development services and information and information on data collection and research on women entrepreneurs in the MENA area.

Table of Content :

Abbreviations and acronyms
Executive summary
Chapter 1.The untapped potential of women's entrepreneurship
-Women's entrepreneurship development: a global concern
-Womens economic activity in the MENA region
-Characteristics of womens entrepreneurship in MENA economies
-Conclusion
-References
Chapter 2.Methodology and Framework for assessing support for women's entrepreneurship in MENA
-Purpose of the report
-Methodology
-Analytical framework for assessing support for womens enterprise development in MENA
-References
Chapter 3. Public policy and women's entrepreneurship in the MENA region
-Introduction
-Policies supporting women entrepreneurs
-Promotion of women entrepreneurs
-Mainstreaming of issues affecting businesswomen in the public/private policy dialogue
-Conclusion
-Key recommendations
-References
Chapter 4. Institutional support for businesswomen in the MENA region
-Introduction
-Public institutions for the advancement of women's economic and social status
-Bodies responsible for co-ordinating the promotion of womens enterprise development
-Business registration and licensing bodies
-SME support agencies
-Female membership in mainstream business associations
-Businesswomens associations
-Conclusion
-Key recommendations
-References
Chapter 5. MENA women entrepreneurs access to credit and financial services
-Introduction
-Financial initiatives or facilities supporting women entrepreneurs bureau information
-Conclusion
-Key recommendations
-References
Chapter 6.Business development services and information
-Introduction
-Public and private business development providers and womens entrepreneurship
-Channels for improving access to business-related information
-Efforts to improve women's access to markets
-Entrepreneurship and management training
-Conclusion
-Key recommendations
-References
Chapter 7.Data collection and research on women entrepreneurs in MENA economies
-Introduction
-State of gender-disaggregated data collection in the MENA region
-State of research on women entrepreneurs
-Conclusions
-Key recommendations
References
Annex A. Founding documents of the OECD-MENA Women's Business Forum
Annex B. Rates of labour force participation, employment, self-employment, and entrepreneurial activity for women and men in MENA economies
Annex C. Comparison of business development services tailored to women
Annex D. MENA-OECD Investment Programme publications and working papers