Being Women and Entrepreneurs in Morocco and Tunisia
Women's business start-ups are considered a crucial component of women's empowerment.
Since 2020, Morocco has developed reforms to foster the active participation of women in the local economy, positioning it among the most forward-looking countries in the MENA region.
According to the Women, Business and the Law 2020, consisting of eight indicators such as mobility, employment, pay, marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, wealth and retirement, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia are respectively the other two countries in the MENA region that are improving on these axes.
Recent studies have shown that in Morocco, women with a high level of education and/or a specialisation related to entrepreneurship, with an average age of 39, married and with more than 2 children, with experience in business management in family businesses, start up businesses. The businesses set up are small and mainly cover the services sector. In Tunisia, most of the same characteristics emerge, with a variation on the average age of 45. The obstacles perceived in both countries concern access to the market and the difficulty of accessing credit: in the Tunisian case, 80% of the interviewees noted a lack of precision when drawing up the business plan. 10% noted a gender bias on the part of suppliers and customers.
Institutions in Morocco and Tunisia have taken steps to set up bodies to support entrepreneurship: the Moroccan National Agency for the Promotion of SMEs and the National Chamber of Women Entrepreneurs.
The African Development Bank Group and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced in October 2023 the creation of a task force to implement services and projects in favour of SMEs, including by co-financing certain activities. To do this, the task force will focus on supporting business start-ups, particularly those led by young people and women, by monitoring the impact they create in the broader economic development strategy of the area.
From research data and international reports, it appears that the difficulty of access to assets (capital, goods, raw materials), the persistence of strong patriarchal traditions that regulate the social role of women, and the lack of social protection systems, are perceived as discouraging factors by women who intend to start a business.
Although the data are evident, there is a lack of qualitative analyses that tell of the motivations behind women's choices, what drives them to start an entrepreneurial activity. Absent are the stories of those women who, after a period of transit in Italy, decided to return and start a business. What encounters enabled these choices and how are these perceived by the community of reference of the returned women?WE-PROPOSE starts from these questions to offer innovative keys to understanding the theme of female entrepreneurship in Morocco and Tunisia.