Women’s Enterprise & Regional Economic Growth: The Untapped Potential
Women entrepreneurs, long-regarded as a minority in business circles, may hold the key to regional economic prosperity in Atlantic Canada. A recent research study undertaken by Mount Saint Vincent University reveals that women entrepreneurs are an untapped source of economic growth potential in Nova Scotia.
The 2010 survey of women business owners in Nova Scotia sought to measure the impact of women-focused business management programming offered by the Halifax-based Centre for Women in Business.
Conducted by Dr. Barbara Orser and Dr. Sandi Findlay-Thompson, the study provides a wealth of information about the growth intentions, business practices, perceptions about the influence of gender on business ownership, and the economic and social impacts of Centre services to assist with business sustainability and growth endeavours.
The research results highlight that a significant percentage of the Centre’s clients are high-growth firms, are intent on business expansion, and are exporting at a rate much higher than the national average. The study also provides strong evidence about the economic and social impacts of Centre services.
The study concludes that the Centre’s well-received and diverse range of programs and services meet the needs of its clients. The findings suggest that the Centre is of particular service to those businesses most likely to export, create new jobs and generate economic welfare; it supports the businesses which are true drivers of positive economic impact for the region.
Study highlights
- The majority of clients (63.3 percent) expressed aspirations for the growth of their firms over the next two years. This proportion of growth-oriented business owners within the CWB client base is much higher than the national average, (40 percent) of all Canadian business owners aspired to enterprise growth over the next two years.
- Clients’ perceptions about their businesses’ stage of development revealed that 67 percent were undergoing rapid or moderate growth. Between 2007 and 2009, revenue growth of CWB firms was 29.9 percent among incorporated firms and 27.9 percent among sole-proprietors and the self-employed.
- A high proportion (34.4 percent) of Centre clients are exporters. By comparison, in 2007, only 8 percent of Canadian SMEs export goods or services.
- The Centre’s current focus on export programs is one potential explanation for the high propensity of CWB clients to engage in international trade.
- An opportunity exists to expand these programs to those clients that reported their products were not exportable.
- In examining gender-specific influences in the perceived effectiveness of counseling, training, and other assistance, the responses coincided with current research and evidence that gender-specific programs and services are a critical success factor for nurturing economic development in women-owned businesses.