The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson has recognised the contribution the growing number of female entrepreneurs are making to the small business community. The Ombudsman’s comments were made to mark the celebration of World MSME Day 2021 yesterday, Sunday, 27 June. In conjunction with the occasion, the acronym standing for World Micro-Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day, The United Nations heralded the fact that the term “womenpreneurs” has been identified as one of the Top 10 Trends of this year.
“On World MSME Day I want to thank all small and family businesses for their vital contribution to Australia’s prosperity, wellbeing and community,” Billson said. “Female entrepreneurs have been acknowledged on World MSME Day as being a crucial part of the global SME ecosystem who are looking for new growth opportunities.”
Billson noted that the womenpreneurs phenomenon is an emerging trend in Australia, with women-owned and women-led enterprises increasing at a faster rate than male-owned businesses.
“In Australia, about 38 per cent of small businesses are owned by women and we are likely to see that number continue to grow,” Billson said. “In the decade to 2019, of the 171,000 newly established businesses in Australia, two-thirds were led by women. Research has found the economic opportunity for Australia by boosting the number of female entrepreneurs to parity with men would be worth between $71 billion and $135 billion to the nation’s economy.”
Resilience was also included as one of the Top 10 Trends of 2021 as part of World MSME Day, a fact that the Ombudsman acknowledged.
“The past 18 months has been incredibly challenging for small businesses, but I have been inspired by the courage and agility shown by our small business community,” Billson said. “Our Small Business Counts report noted ABS data revealing 40 per cent of small businesses have changed the way they provided products and services as a result of the pandemic. More than ever we have seen the deep personal commitment it takes to run a small business and I thank Australian small and family businesses for their fighting spirit, hard work and determination.”
