CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN BENIN’S SANITATION SECTOR: A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS

Description

20231009-LN008-US-GenderInWASHPrivateSector-Final English Version

The West Africa Municipal Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (MuniWASH) Activity is a five-year water and sanitation project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Benin and Côte d’Ivoire. The West Africa Municipal Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (MuniWASH) Activity MuniWASH studied the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in the WASH sector in Benin and identified factors that hinder their participation. MuniWASH is a five-year water and sanitation project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Benin and Côte d’Ivoire and MuniWASH is using the findings from this study to inform its approach to empowering women entrepreneurs in WASH.

The Activity interviewed 20 women entrepreneurs about their personal and professional journeys in the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector. The interviewees revealed various exogenous factors that impede women’s active participation in WASH. These factors include sociocultural, financial, and institutional and regulatory obstacles. Socio-cultural barriers, such as gender norms and stereotypes, restrict women’s access to resources, networks, and opportunities. Financial challenges, such as limited access to credit and capital, further hamper potential entrepreneurial endeavors and expansion. Finally, institutional and regulatory frameworks pose hurdles that create additional barriers to women’s entrepreneurship. Despite these challenges, the interviewees also highlighted the positive impact of recent legislative and regulatory measures in Benin such as the adoption of the national gender policy and the enactment of laws pertaining to equity in the workplace. Leveraging these legal advancements, the USAID MuniWASH project has successfully enhanced women’s capacities and facilitated their access to credit, aligning seamlessly with the existing legal frameworks.

Addressing the obstacles faced by women entrepreneurs in the WASH sector requires comprehensive strategies that target socio-cultural norms, improve financial inclusion, and address institutional and regulatory barriers. By implementing supporting activities, such as capacity building initiatives and mechanisms, to improve access to credit, there is potential to create a robust enabling environment for women entrepreneurs in WASH. In using such measures, MuniWASH has successfully enhanced women’s capacities and facilitated their access to credit, in alignment with existing legal frameworks. MuniWASH uses these structural changes to empower more women entrepreneurs to participate in the WASH sector and to realize better outcomes when they do.