Equality for women in Africa has not been easy to achieve. Women that have decided to take the path of entrepreneurship are confronted with challenges just because of their gender, and as much as these old-school ideas are slowly being replaced human rights, there are still obstacles relating to the social context dominant to their countries.

The leading culture in African countries is often one that expects women to stay home in a traditional way. They are expected to take care of children and their home. Society does not expect them to become educated and even less, to become businesswomen. In a survey published by the by the French Development Agency, it was shown that in “11 cities in sub-Saharan Africa, women spend more time on domestic activities than their male counterparts regardless of household status – head of household, wife, or daughter.” This may conclude to the fact that society would not be quite approving of a woman who “leaves” her “duties” to pursue what is viewed as a man’s job.

Basics in the business world such as networking has even become a challenge for these women, since they are looked down upon when trying to close a deal in a restaurant, bar, or other location that men frequent for these type of settlements. Finances are also made difficult for them, since apparently, many have to attend represented by a man and are not seen as “reliable” just because of their gender. According to a Findex report, numbers showed that only 30% of women in sub-Saharan Africa had an access to a bank account.  In Nigeria and other developing economies women were 20% less likely than men to have a bank accounts.

On the other hand, many big companies as well as the government are setting up projects of support to fix this situation. Countless number of initiatives such as “wPOWER”, “WECREATE” in Zambia, Empretec - created by the United Nations, and even Mastercard, have worked to fix these issues and assist aspiring female entrepreneurs in establishment better education and business skills.

African female entrepreneurs have definitely not had an easy path due to harsh business environments but with the help of many national and international institutes, governments, and business promoters, they are each day a step closer to reaching their goals.