Rural Alberta women entrepreneurs continue to face a number of barriers to success, including accessing financial resources, according to the author of a recent Alberta-wide research project.
“The findings support that there is still definitely work that needs to be done to try and help women and facilitate their business development skills and try to deal with some of the barriers that they face,” Heather Broughton told the Gazette.
The “Success for Women in Agri-Foods Needs Assessment Report” was funded by Ministry of Status of Women Canada, conducted by the Agriculture and Food Council, and included a comprehensive assessment of the current situation for women involved in agri-foods entrepreneurism and policy development.
Researchers gathered input from more than 200 women and men through online surveys, interviews and focus groups, including in Olds.
“The results of the research identified finance and other business management skills, as well as access to capital, childcare and other responsibilities, and the lack of networking and mentorship opportunities, as significant barriers for many rural women agri-food entrepreneurs,” she said in the report.
For the purpose of the study, agri-food was defined as “industries across the value chain of agriculture and food sectors from primary food production to value added and processing using agricultural products, including specialty or niche food markets.”
• Researchers found that finance was identified as the number 1 barrier to women ag-entrepreneurs.
“Women found it difficult to gain access to capital (loans, grants) for their businesses, either from the bank or other granting institutions,” she said. “This was in part due to the fact that the participants thought they were unequipped to demonstrate what lenders require or they did not know how to identify or access the appropriate lending/granting institutions or where to look for alternate sources of financing.
“Participants also responded in the interviews that they felt they weren't being taken seriously in their business endeavours, or their role within the business was either not understood or accepted or respected from the lender, she said.
“The author also learned that women felt whether they were startup businesses or established, their overall general financial acumen or knowledge of business management skills was not strong enough and needed to be further developed.”
• Researchers also found that other commitments can present barriers.
“The complexities of their responsibilities of other commitments being off-farm jobs, childcare, extended family care, domestic responsibilities and volunteering all had a significant impact on their ability to work on their agri-food business,” she said.
• A lack of networking opportunities can also be a barrier.
“Time and again, women lamented the fact that they had no opportunity or central resource to network with other professional women and agri-food entrepreneurs,” she said.
“Many spoke of their desire for membership in a larger, supportive community of women in business, but didn't know where to find such groups. Many of the business networking events are held in Edmonton or Calgary, which becomes prohibitive to attend because of travel, time and cost.”
• Cultural and social barriers were also identified.
“Women interviewed still felt they were primarily responsible for childcare and anything related to the domicile. In addition to these responsibilities, many women also have off-farm jobs that made demands on their time. Access to affordable rural childcare was mentioned in every data gathering method.
“Some women mentioned that sexism is still present within the agricultural sector and amongst rural communities, and the judgment they faced for pursuing senior business roles or their own ag-businesses.”
The research project's findings are being used to develop a pilot program focused on rural Alberta women entrepreneurs.
A preview of the pilot program will be presented during forums in Olds (at Olds College), Fairview, Vermilion, Parkland County and Lethbridge on Nov. 19.
“That is to showcase what the pilot program is going to be,” she said. “And that is going to be with some speakers, some networking opportunities, and some discussion opportunities. There will be couple different delivery formats for that day. There will be a couple virtual speakers as well as face-to-face speakers. They will all be talking on business topics that are important for women entrepreneurs in developing or sustaining their business.”
The pilot program itself will be delivered in late January 2017 to October 2017, she said.
“For those women who face barriers in their business development, we are excited to offer this unique learning opportunity combined with skill development, networking and mentorship opportunities delivered exclusively in rural communities,” she said.
“It is important to focus on developing a program that increases access and opportunity to skill development, increases knowledge bases, knowledge transfer, expands relationships, increases confidence and capacity within a supportive and open environment, and complementing those characteristics unique to women.”
Registration information for the Nov. 19 Olds event can be found at www.agfoodcouncil.com.
"The results of the research identified finance and other business management skills, as well as access to capital, childcare and other responsibilities, and the lack of networking and mentorship opportunities, as significant barriers for many rural women agri-food entrepreneurs."Heather Broughton
