Yesterday, Enterprising ME launched its 2023-2024 Decadal Plan to create a thriving environment for women entrepreneurs.
In a start-up landscape where only 22-36 per cent of founders are women, the plan outlines key steps towards leveraging untapped entrepreneurial talent.
In it are 10 “key facts”, 10 “big ambitions”, and 10 recommendations to support women entrepreneurs. Authored by a panel of 12 volunteer experts, these draw on comprehensive research and the lived experiences of female founders. In particular, they highlight the challenges that female founders face in accessing funding and business investment.
The rise of the micro business
Moreover, a key theme of the report was that of the micro business. Officially, a micro business is a business that employs between zero and four persons. However, this definition is disputed, including by the Decadal Plan, which recommends an adjusted definition of micro business to reflect key differences between it and SMEs.
Micro businesses make up 89 per cent of all Australian businesses, but are often overlooked and misunderstood.
“Micro businesses are essential to the Australian economy, providing critical flexibility for women, particularly those balancing caregiving roles or facing additional and intersecting barriers,” said Mandy Richards, CEO and Founder of Global Sisters.
Richards was one of the 12 expert panel members for the Decadal Plan. Her organisation, Global Sisters, is a national not-for-profit that supports women-led micro businesses, recently raising $1 million for twelve female-led initiatives in a rapid-fire pitch event.
“[Micro businesses] are often overlooked, misunderstood, and underserved by current systems,” she continued. “By recognising the value of micro businesses as economic contributors, we can ensure they receive the right support tailored to their specific needs.”
Richards’ contributions shine through in the Decadal Plan, which calls for greater recognition of micro businesses, a national Index on micro business activity, and revisions in the approaches for financial services and investors to ensure they are relevant to female micro business leaders.
The 10 recommendations of the Decadal Plan
The Plan’s 10 recommendations are that:
1: Universities partner with industry to establish Entrepreneur in Residence programs on campuses.
2: Australian businesses proactively support women entrepreneurs (i.e., through funding, mentoring, and preferential investment).
3: Large businesses support and seek out women-owned suppliers.
4: Large businesses direct 50 per cent of procurement spend to women-owned or led businesses.
5: Financial services and investors revise approaches to ensure they are relevant to female micro business leaders.
6: Financial services and investors redefine ‘micro businesses’ as distinct from the definition applied to small businesses.
7: The Government establishes a National Micro business Activity Index to track the contributions of micro businesses to the Australian economy.
8: The Government launches a platform to promote STEM education and entrepreneurial opportunities, especially for women of under-represented groups.
9: All Australian Jurisdictions review procurement processes to make preconditions for success clearer and create opportunities for women-owned or led businesses.
10: The State Governments convene an Annual Women in Entrepreneurship and Wealth Creation Summit, to drive collaboration, responsibility and accountability.
