WOMEN BUSINESS LEADERS FROM AFRICA

‘They assume the man next to me is the owner’: four women doing business in Africa in their own way.

Africa is thought to have a higher proportion of female entrepreneurs than any other continent and yet many still struggle to access financing. Four business leaders from Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and Malawi tell us about the inspiration behind their success – and the challenges women still face.

Ifedolapo Runsewe, Nigeria: giving waste tyres a new life

On the outskirts of Ibadan in south-west Nigeria, thousands of discarded tyres are fuelling an industrial experiment.

They arrive at Freee Recycle’s factory where they are sorted, shredded and reduced to rubber granules. Some will become playground surfaces. Others will be turned into gym flooring, paving blocks and interlocking tiles.

Ifedolapo Runsewe, the company’s founder, is building an industrial recycling business in a sector where women rarely own factories or lead manufacturing operations.

In Nigeria, women own about 40% of small businesses, but 56% of female entrepreneurs’ last loan applications were denied, compared with 17% for men, according to the World Bank. In capital-heavy fields such as recycling, this financing gap may prevent female entrepreneurs becoming factory owners.

- Author: Valentine Benjamin, Stefanie Glinski, Sarah Johnson and Kenneth Zindondo, The Guardian

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