Investment finance: off limits for women

Overview

Only one in ten of Zambians in business are women. Those involved in economic investment have relied upon male connections in the Government and private sector. This articles explores why it is hard for women to access finance, making them dependent on the informal sector, and why the few businesswomen there are have ‘feminine’ lines of work. NGOs and donors have done little to implement gender-based programmes and need to be more business-like if they are to move women from State dependency to economic empowerment.

This article is hosted by our co-publisher Taylor & Francis. For the full table of contents for this and previous issues of this journal, please visit the Gender and Development website.