Women have been making their mark in the workplace with more women than ever before rising high up in the ranks and revealing their potential. Whilst progress has been made, female founders are still outnumbered by males.
2% of the World’s Top Companies have Female Founders.
According to the Forbes top 100 companies list only two companies are founded by women, both of which are in the tech industries.
Although a recent study on Female Founders by JBH shows that the number of women founders is growing, there is still a need for more global action to support women in business.
How to Support Women Business
There are several ways that female founders can be supported, it is incredibly easy to support these businesses with just a click. Here are some great ways you can help:
1. Share the Love
Nothing is more helpful to any brand than talking about how much you like their products or services. It makes a huge difference if you can express that positive experience through a review on Facebook, LinkedIn, or an Instagram story. It will motive the team and possibly create more sales for them.
2. Constructive Feedback
Leadership expert Ken Blanchard says that “Feedback is the breakfast of champions.” It’s clear and direct, as without feedback no organization or employees can improve on their offering.
If you have any issues with a product or service, the founder will appreciate your feedback. By emailing them clear feedback and suggestion, the manager will be more than likely be able to help you in addressing any issue. It will also help the business to improve future service or product delivery.
3. Donate your Time and Expertise.
If you are an expert in your field, rather than always making general financial contributions, consider offering free advice to female entrepreneurs. Expertise can come from your experience, training, or both. As an accountant and banker, I found that our blog (businessingambia.com) has helped many young Gambians.
It is often easier when you offer to give free advice than entrepreneur approaching you. Take that lead and they will appreciate it.
4. Buy Local, By Females
Choosing a female-owned company in your community would mean more to the owner than you can imagine. Rather than supporting large companies, patronize a small business that will provide you with a much more personalized experience in which your purchase isn’t one in a million.
For instance, Dibafric an e-commerce platform that provides a virtual marketplace to promote trade between a network of entrepreneurs and the international market can be the place to shop your African designs.
5. Remember… Someone Else’s Success Is Not Your Failure
Whether it’s a friend or a stranger, someone else’s success should be congratulated, a simple like on Instagram or a follow will help them grow.
Above all, the growth rate in the number of women-owned firms increased in most industries, there is a need for us to deliberately support women businesses.
Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General of World Trade Centre & Former Minster of Finance Nigeria once said “Investing in women is smart economics, and investing in girls, catching them upstream is even smarter economics.”
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