Resource information
Women in post-conflict economies face a
number of challenges. Often their businesses stay at
embryonic stages only, due to three key limitations relating
to: knowledge of business vision and management; access to
finance and markets; and access to role models and networks.
Added to the complexity is the risk of having to start all
over again due to their countriesapos; political instability
and the limited infrastructure to make their businesses
proper and become more efficient over time. This report
presents findings on the situation of women entrepreneurs in
Liberia. It discusses the challenges that female
entrepreneurs face as well as enabling factors that they
encounter when operating their businesses in Liberiaapos;s
post-conflict environment. Through the voices and
experiences of women - as in the IFC series quot;Voices of
Women Entrepreneursquot; that inspires it - this report
sheds some light on the specificities of women doing
business in fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCS),
such as those in Liberia. It identifies operational lessons
and proposes recommendations on how to support women
entrepreneurs and contribute to their economic empowerment
in the transition from post-conflict to reconstruction and
development. The women interviewed for this report
highlighted how obstacles, such as limited financial
infrastructure, restricted access to markets, and most
importantly, insufficient networks to support women
entrepreneurs, stifle efforts to create sustainable
solutions for women entrepreneurs. The report offers
operational lessons and recommendations on how to address
these challenges and support womenapos;s economic
participation and empowerment.
