Women’s entrepreneurship: а comparative study or Russia and Niger



Table 1. Drivers and motives of female entrepreneurs, %

Goals	The third wave (the first half of 2017)	The fourth wave (second half of 2017.)
Drivers
Desire to realize her own idea More income than employment Experience in the relevant industry	27 33 8	22 21 16
Motives
Material incentives (money, standard of living) Professional incentives (development, interest, experience) Social incentives (family, status, communication)	48 32 20	35 37 27

Source: developed by authors: Pinkovetskaia et al. by using data from (GEM, 2015-2017)

The main drivers affecting the entrepreneurial activity of women are the desire to get higher income than employees (on average, 27% of respondents) and the need to implement existing ideas and plans (on average,25%). A bit less impact (12% on average) is due to previous experience in a particular type of economic activity. The main motives of entrepreneurship are material and professional incentives, namely improving the standard of living, material well-being, as well as further professional development, the availability of interesting work and additional experience. From 72% to 80% of respondents noted these motives in the complex. At the same time, social incentives also seem significant; they were indicated by more than 20% of the surveyed female entrepreneurs of our country.

· Niger

Historically, the African woman is an entrepreneur at heart because she manages her family unit effectively to meet the needs of the family. However, social attitudes and prejudices associated with cultural and religious factors in different societies had led to the emergence of female entrepreneurship. In the process of economic and social development; women contribute in the same way as men if not more and often complementary at the level of the family unit. Women beyond this aspect, as an individual, seek to satisfy several categories of needs as shown by the work of the schools of human relations, especially those of Maslow: access to a job and therefore to an income, the need for learning to a group, the need for recognition, the need for social fulfilment. These needs have in a formal way boost the creation of business among women who make up a significant portion of the population. The real spark began in the 1980s with the decade of women decided by the United nations (1976-1986). And was the creation of women's enterprises promoted at the regional level by the African Union Declaration the period "2010-2020, the decade of African women, for equal rights between men and women"? The African Union offers an opportunity for African societies to continue the fight for the empowerment of women. Such a declaration is proof that equality between men and women remains a real challenge on the continent.

According to the African union, the roles of women have changed a lot in Africa over the years. She is no longer always seen as the one who only gives life and goes about household chores. Today, like other members of her community, her ability to contribute positively to the development initiatives of his locality or to participate in any other activity that may have an impact on his environment, her community and her country, is increasingly recognized. Policy developments in different countries show that women have, in recent years, achieved more social transformation and have faced many challenges through their commitment, mobilization and determination. States must support the efforts of civil society and women's groups by ensuring the implementation of existing legislation. These texts should be seen as tools for change and protection, not discriminating. Whether employed by a state structure, a private structure or a personal initiative, women have rights that must be valued, respected and done respected.

Finally, for real change, women need to be educated, because education allows them to better understand the issues of the world in which they live and to consider themselves as real actresses of change and not those who are always in the background. In addition, although the issue of education is crucial in this approach because of the large number of women who have not received formal education, there are alternative channels such as training of trainers, community dialogues, literacy, exchange trips, etc. to empower women in all regions of Africa so that they can fully realize and enjoy all their rights. In order to achieve these results, women need the support of States, national and international non-governmental organizations that are always at the forefront of advocating for gender equality.

However, some research has shown that most women entrepreneurs are married and according to (Onana, 2009), "the desire to assist the husband in the coverage of the needs of the family is the main entrepreneurial motivation among women"; this motivation is manifested in particular by the concern to ensure the future of the children and that to contribute to the well-being of the family. In all societies of the world, women are essential in the process of economic, social, and cultural development. Better it plays an important role in the peace and security of the nation.

Aware of this strength; the Nigerien woman in a struggle for emancipation and this through the historic March of 13 May 1991.this March is the starting point for women's affirmation on the political and economic scene.

However, the global and regional contexts offer Niger real opportunities to achieve gender equity and equality, which are an open door for female entrepreneurship because women are no longer excluded and are treated in the same way as men.

In recent years, the business environment has improved in Niger country, where significant efforts are being made to facilitate the creation of businesses. Before the steps taken in this direction, many Nigeriens indeed know that, creating a business in the country, is a real challenge. (Sahel 17 July 2014 Published 17 July, 2014). Business start-ups are complex and multiple, resulting in a loss of time for promoters, significant financial burdens even before the start of the activity and often discouragement. It is aware of this hindrance to the development that the Niger to be created by Decree No. 2012-247/PRN /MC/PSP/MM / DI of 30 May 2012 of the House of Enterprise at the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and crafts of Niger (CCAIN). The main mission of this new structure is to " strengthen the economic fabric through the emergence of competitive enterprises and the improvement of the business climate ". With the aim of fostering entrepreneurship, the creation and development of private enterprises, the Company House is charged among others:

First, raise awareness and inform promoters about the various business support services, sources of local and international financing and financial intermediation available to businesses

Second, to advise and assist project leaders throughout the process of setting up their companies

Third, to facilitate the procedures and administrative procedures for the creation of businesses through, in particular, the strengthened Single Window

Fourth, to accompany and supervise companies for the implementation of management tools adapted to their organizational, technical, financial, or commercial needs

And finally, to facilitate their development.

Before the creation of the House of the operating company since January 2, 2014, the country has set up another structure called center of business formalities (CFE). On the CCAIN side, it is explained that by creating the business formalities Centre, " the Government intends to express its full will to create an environment favorable to the development of the private sector, in particular by easing the conditions for setting up businesses and carrying out economic activities in the well-understood interests of businesses and public administrations ".

According to the same source, " the business formalities center allows national and Foreign Economic Operators, natural and legal persons, to carry out in the same place, at a reduced cost and within a minimum period, the formalities and declarations to which they are required by the laws and regulations in force in the legal, administrative, social, fiscal and statistical fields related to the creation, modification or dissolution of enterprises and secondary establishments ". In short, it states, " the CFE is a one-stop shop where all formalities are grouped and processed on behalf of the promoter ". The latter can thus, in the context of the creation of a company, go to the CFE to carry out the formalities such as registration in the Register of trade and movable credit; the declaration for the purpose of registration at the Tax Identification Number (TIN) ; registration with the Social Security Fund (CNSS) ; declaration of opening of establishment to the Labor Inspectorate and publication in the official journal or legal notices of declarations of existence.

Naturally, this was felt as a relief among the various actors especially that subsequently all regions of Niger were equipped with CFE antenna. The Niamey CFE reports that, from the beginning of its activities in 2003 to May 31, 2014, significant results have been recorded in the creation of businesses in our country. In addition to harmonising the procedures for setting up businesses and obtaining other formalities, 43 688 formalities were completed, 13 445 businesses were set up through the centre's channel and about 40 000 jobs were created. This means that progress has been made in this area. However, despite all this, the center is experiencing difficulties in carrying out its activities, mainly with regard to the completion of registration formalities in the Register of Commerce and personal credit (RCCM). A CFE report to the president of the CCIAN indicates that these difficulties exist and persist at several levels.

The Article 9 of Decree No. 2001-220/PRN/MC / PSP of 23 November 2001 provides that any natural or legal person wishing to carry out the formalities for the creation, modification or dissolution of enterprises and secondary establishments is obliged to refer the matter to the CFE. Despite the provisions of the said decree, the chief clerks continue to receive from the hands of individuals or certain notaries applications for registration in the Register of Commerce and movable credit (RCCM) ".

Also "Ordinance No. 2009-26 of November 6, 2009, on the Finance Act for the 2010 budget year provides that"... stamp duties relating to registration in the Register of Commerce and movable credit are capped at 11,500 francs and detailed as follows: a tax stamp of 1,500 francs for registration in the register; a stamp of 10,000 francs for signature fees...". However, the report points out, this provision is also not respected by the majority of the chief clerks.

In relation to this situation which hinders the proper functioning of the CFE, the consular company has, according to the same source, sent several letters to the ministerial department in charge of Justice. Better, a meeting was organized in 2010 between the two institutions, a registrar in charge of the registration component in the trade and mobile credit register was assigned in 2012 to the business formalities center. But the problem persists. However, this did not prevent the center from exploring other ways to truly accomplish its mission. For example, in partnership with the World Bank, the CFE is considering making changes to the business start-up process to further simplify it and reduce the number of steps and time to start-up.

Already, with the creation of the Company House, the government has made an amendment to the decree establishing the CFE. For example, business start-up procedures are reduced to a maximum of (4) instead of (9) and the business start-up time may not exceed (3) working days. It is also envisaged the networking of the CFE with the partner administrations, the use of a form of standardised and simplified statutes. At the center level, it is estimated that, " these measures are aimed at significantly raising the ranking of Niger, compared to countries with the same characteristics in general, and those of the subregion in particular, in the ranking of the World Bank's Doing Business, and hence, improving the indicators of qualification to the Compact Program of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) ". At a time when a great deal of effort is now being made to exploit the wealth of our country's basement, the business creation facilities offered by our country are simply opportune. We hope that the structures created to support proponents in this framework will also benefit from all aspects so that they can truly fulfil their missions. To facilitate the creation of jobs and wealth and in an inclusive manner, Niger has adopted a national strategy for the promotion of youth entrepreneurship (SNPEJ) at the Council of Ministers of 20 /9 /2019.

With a view to achieving this objective and further improving the promotion of young people's businesses, three major strategic and priority actions are identified:

- strengthening the institutional and regulatory framework

- strengthening the skills and capacities of young entrepreneurs

- improve financial availability

· Russia

Small and medium enterprises have been developed in the Russian Federation in the process of transformation of the state economy into a market economy since 1992. Thus, to date this sector of the national economy has existed in the country for a little more than 25 years. Accordingly, female entrepreneurship in Russia is the same age. Studies conducted by scientists in different countries demonstrate the positive impact of female entrepreneurs on economic growth, employment growth and reduction of social tension in many countries (Morozov, 2003; Fetsch et al., 2015; Lewis et al., 2014). According to the work (Woetzel et al., 2015), a more complete use of the potential of female entrepreneurs, including their participation in the economy at a level comparable to men, can increase the global gross domestic product by 26%.

In the process of the study, the analysis of the development of female entrepreneurship in Russia in 2016 was carried out. At the same time along with the results of our work, the data provided in the report (Verkhovskaya et al., 2017) were used. The analysis carried out according to the GEM data allowed us to draw the following conclusions:

First, female entrepreneurship in Russia, as well as entrepreneurship in general, has been developing for a quarter of the century. However, only for the last ten years female participation in entrepreneurship has developed significantly;

Second, the total number of women involved in entrepreneurship reached 5.2 million in 2016 in Russia;

Third, the gender gap in entrepreneurial activity has significantly reduced in recent years;

Fourth, there were almost two times more opportunity-driven early stage female entrepreneurs than necessity-driven early-stage entrepreneurs;

Fifth, the level of entrepreneurial activity of women in the early stages in Russia exceeded similar indicators in such economically developed European countries as Germany, Italy, France;

Sixth, the share of women in the total number of people starting their own business in our country reached 47%;

And finally, the ratio of female to male entrepreneurial activity in the early stages in Russia was significantly higher than in the US and the largest economies of the European Union.

In 2015-2017, the All-Russian Public Organization of Small and Medium Enterprises (“OPORA of Russia”) conducted an assessment of the female entrepreneurial activity index (Female Business Activity Index, 2017). In total four reports corresponding to four waves of the research were released. The entrepreneurial activity index describes the preference level of the business and social environment for the development of female entrepreneurship in Russia. The index included three indicators that reflect society's attitudes towards female entrepreneurship, namely the culture of entrepreneurship, its economic conditions and infrastructure, as well as the personal qualities and talents of entrepreneurs. The survey on these three indicators took into account the views of women who already own their business, as well as employed and temporarily unemployed women. Each of the indicators in the surveys corresponded to a set of questions. At the same time, a positive assessment of the business and social environment was described by values above 50 points, while a negative assessment was described below 50 points. The value of business activity indices for each of the indicators was calculated on the basis of the survey results on the issues included in the corresponding indicator. The composite index of female entrepreneurial activity was based on conditional proportions, which according to researchers, reflect the importance of indicators. Thus, the indicator of entrepreneurial culture corresponded to the proportion of 0.2; economic conditions and infrastructure - 0.6; personal qualities and talents of women entrepreneurs - 0.2. Considering these specific proportions, the composite index represented the amount of the products of the indicator values by the corresponding proportions. Thus, the values of the composite index of female entrepreneurial activity above 50 points indicate a favorable environment, and below 50 points indicates an unfavorable environment. Such approach allowed us to obtain a comprehensive assessment of the business environment.

The results of the four waves of research showed that the values of the summary indicators were:

The first wave (2015): 56 points

The second wave (2016): 57 points

The third wave (the first half of 2017): 59 points

The fourth wave (second half of 2017): 69points.

At the same time, by the end of 2017, the indicators included in the composite index were:

Business culture: 71 points

Economic conditions and infrastructure: 58 points

Personal qualities and talents: 67 points

Along with the assessment of the conditions of entrepreneurial activity, a survey on the attitude of the Russian population to female entrepreneurship was conducted. The absolute majority of respondents (96%) were positive about entrepreneurship, including self-employment of women. The survey showed that three-quarters of women see themselves as entrepreneurs in future. Only 11% of respondents would not like to be engaged in business activity

· Niger

For about a decade, the country has diversified the traditional sources of income, and youth entrepreneurship has contributed significantly to economic growth. According to statistics, entrepreneurship has produced huge returns for entrepreneurs and for the economy of the country.

According to experts, it has a huge untapped potential that could lead the African continent to its next phase of development, which is why a study published in June 2015 by Approved Index, a business networking group based in the UK, ranked Africa among the best in the field of entrepreneurship. As a testament to the continent's rising star, the Entrepreneurship around the World Report cited Uganda, Angola, Cameroon and Botswana among the top ten in entrepreneurship. The group sees entrepreneurship as a "necessity" at a time of high employment, saying: "When unemployment is high and the economy is weaker, people are forced to start small businesses to support their personal needs and those of their families. »

Today, entrepreneurship is considered one of the most sustainable tools for job creation in Africa. Roselyn Vusia, a human rights defender, points out that youth unemployment in Uganda estimated at 83 %, according to the 2014 report of the African Development Bank, is one of the highest in Africa.

The importance of entrepreneurship was highlighted at the World Entrepreneurship Summit held in July 2015 in Kenya's capital Nairobi, in the presence of U.S. President Barack Obama, entrepreneurs from more than 100 countries and a group of U.S. investors.

Speaking at the summit, President Obama praised entrepreneurship for what it means to Africa. Summit participants agreed with him that entrepreneurship is one of the key factors in the toolkit against youth unemployment in Africa, where the world's youngest population lives. "Entrepreneurship creates new jobs and new businesses, new ways to provide basic services, new ways to see the world - it's the spark of prosperity," Obama said at the summit.

According to Evans Wadongo, presented by Forbes Africa as one of Africa's most promising young entrepreneurs, many African governments have not been inclined to develop policies that would significantly prevent youth unemployment.

We note that the efforts of different African countries have generated confidence among young people who have resolutely turned to entrepreneurship and therefore improve the economy and reduce unemployment in African countries. Speaking as an example of the increase in foreign investment and economic growth in Africa, Ugandan Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda said his government's efforts to promote entrepreneurial culture have produced " remarkable results. "This is how the state-run Youth Venture Capital Fund helps train young people who have good business ideas and give them money. The government also helps young entrepreneurs to market their products.

"Entrepreneurship, if well managed, can create more jobs on the continent and strengthen the middle class, which is essential for economic growth. Entrepreneurship training needs to be integrated into formal education in Africa to prepare young people for the future, " says Wadongo.

Andrew Wujung, professor of economics at the University of Bamenda in Cameroon, attributes the country's entrepreneurship effort to its unique poverty reduction strategy. Unlike other African countries, Cameroon's poverty reduction strategy is linked to entrepreneurship. In addition, the government organizes strong skills and training programs for entrepreneurs and facilitates access to credit for people with innovative technological and business ideas.

For entrepreneurship to have a strong impact on the African economy, governments have to address some of the biggest challenges to its progress, including lack of funds, appropriate leadership and effective public policies. In addition, African governments should consider providing incentives to the private sector through tax breaks to create more jobs. Laws and regulations should favor entrepreneurs.

With an estimated population of over 20 million and a population growth rate of 3.3 per cent per year, Niger has about 52 per cent of young people under the age of 15 and over a third in the 15-35 age group. The access of these young people to productive, decent, sustainable and remunerative employment is a priority for the government in Niger.

The Nigerien economy has suffered greatly from this deplorable situation. Aware that a change is useful and necessary in this area, the authorities of the 7th Republic decided to work to improve the business environment in our country. This was concretized by the creation by Decree No. 2012-247/PRN /MC/PSP/MM / DI of 30 May 2012 of the Company House at the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and crafts of Niger (CCAIN).with the aim of fostering entrepreneurship, the creation and development of private companies, the `'Maison de l'entreprise'' is responsible, among other things, for raising awareness and informing promoters about the various business support services, sources of local and international financing and financial intermediation available to companies ; to advise and assist project managers throughout the process of setting up their companies; to facilitate the procedures and administrative procedures for setting up companies through, in particular, the strengthened one-stop shop ; to accompany and supervise companies for the implementation of management tools adapted to their organizational, technical, financial or commercial needs in order to facilitate their development.

Before the creation of the House of the operating company since January 2, 2014, our country has set up another structure called center of business formalities (CFE). On the CCAIN side, it is explained that by creating the business formalities Centre, " the Government intends to express its full will to create an environment favorable to the development of the private sector, in particular by easing the conditions for setting up businesses and carrying out economic activities in the well-understood interests of businesses and public administrations ".

According to the same source, " the business formalities centre allows national and Foreign Economic Operators, natural and legal persons, to carry out in the same place, at a reduced cost and within a minimum period, the formalities and declarations to which they are required by the laws and regulations in force in the legal, administrative, social, fiscal and statistical fields related to the creation, modification or dissolution of enterprises and secondary establishments ". In short, it states, " the CFE is a one-stop shop where all formalities are grouped and processed on behalf of the promoter ". The latter can thus, in the context of the creation of a company, go to the CFE to carry out the formalities such as registration in the Register of trade and movable credit; the declaration for the purpose of registration at the Tax Identification Number (TIN) ; registration with the Social Security Fund (CNSS) ; declaration of opening of establishment to the Labour Inspectorate and publication in the official journal or legal notices of declarations of existence.

Naturally, this was felt as a relief among the various actors especially that subsequently all regions of Niger were equipped with CFE antenna. The Niamey CFE reports that, from the beginning of its activities in 2003 to May 31, 2014, significant results have been recorded in the creation of businesses in our country. In addition to harmonizing the procedures for setting up businesses and obtaining other formalities, 43 688 formalities were completed, 13 445 businesses were set up through the center's channel and about 40 000 jobs were created. This means that progress has been made in this area. (Source; interview with the director of the company House: 17/11/2019).

These results confirm Marcu's conclusions. (D, 2006) which states that " the role of entrepreneurship in the economy has changed dramatically over the last half century. During the post-World War II period, the importance of entrepreneurship and small businesses appeared to fade. While urgent calls were then made for the preservation and protection of small businesses for social and political reasons, few calls were made for economic efficiency reasons. This situation has been completely reversed in recent years. »

We can say that entrepreneurship is at the heart of Government life in Niger. those trained to serve the state are now business leaders. The terrain is cleaned, and the business climate is making enormous progress in Niger.



3. Review of opportunities for female entrepreneurs

· Theoretical summary of opportunities

Opportunities are described as having an existence of their own objective, independent of entrepreneurs. They therefore pre-exist to their identification, they somehow "float" and it is up to the vigilant entrepreneur to discover them (Kirzner, 1973). Thus, several researchers have published articles on the different types of opportunities including network (Lechner & al, 2005), infrastructure availability (Alcбzar and al, 2015), a good rate of inflation facilitating transactions, demand and supply (Antonia Lopez-Villavicencio and al, 2011), a political stability in a country and Government policies(Lee and Osteryoung, 2004), not to mention technological development. However, our study is based on the timely financial and non-financial support available to Russian and Nigerien women entrepreneurs because few studies have been conducted on this level in these two countries and the existing articles do not clearly explain the sources of these opportunities whether coming from the government, banks, private investors etc. The most significant problem for women during the start-up period is access to financing, as indicated by over 55 per cent of the women in (Kahara-Kawuki, 1998) and (Snyder, 2000). Carter (& Rosa, 1998) & (Verheul & Thurik, 2001) have discussed the role of financial constraints for women entrepreneurs and their influence on women's strategic decision. Also Compared to men, women face additional constraints from lack of start-up capital due to their difficulties in convincing the financial institutions (and even their potential clientele) about their business ideas and managerial abilities (OECD 2000). In general, women tend to possess less personal financial resources than men (Volkova, 2017). Thus, for a given opportunity and equally capable individual, women must assemble additional resources compared to men.



3.1 Opportunities of Russian female entrepreneurs

A growing body of research emphasizes the role and impact of female entrepreneurs and the development of a vibrant small and medium enterprise sector in the process of economic development (e.g., World Bank, 2003, 2004, and 2005). According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2018-2019 eighteen countries show that women are the most innovative or have parity with men, especially the Russian Federation, where women entrepreneurs are 2.1 times more likely than men to offer an innovative product. It has also been stated by the GEM 2018-2019 that women carry twice as many international sales as men who are above 25% in Russia and this is probably due to the several opportunities offered to them, which are many compared to Niger.

As part of measures that support female entrepreneurship in Russia, we can cite the implementation of credit and guarantee business support, the SME Corporation and the SME Bank have developed specialized credit products for female entrepreneurs. Currently, “Express for current purposes” and “Express for investments” are available for them. The purpose of loans can be both the replenishment of working capital and financing of the current enterprise activities, and the implementation of investment projects. The rate for the special segment which includes female entrepreneurship, is 10.6%. This is 2% less than the standard credit rate. The analysis of loan applications from female entrepreneurs conducted by the partners of the SME Corporation showed that in most cases the amount of the requested loan does not exceed 100 million rubles. According to experts, it is caused by the scale of female business and their inherent caution in making capital investments. With this in mind, the SME Corporation has developed a special financial product for female entrepreneurs.

In recent years, the project "mother-entrepreneur "has been implemented in Russia, organized by the charity Fund "responsible for the future ", the Higher School of Economics and "SUPPORT of Russia". The project provides free training in the basics of individual entrepreneurship for young mothers. This Federal social project has been implemented for several years. The duration of training is about one and a half months and includes disciplines that help to increase the level of entrepreneurial activity: the basics of business planning, marketing, accounting, small business taxation and other similar economic subjects. In the process of training, additional subjects are also considered: time management, stress management, business female style. Women who are on leave to take care of children, mothers of preschool children and mothers with many children are involved in training.

In addition to training, the project "mother-entrepreneur "includes a competition of business plans prepared by the participants. The winner receives a grant in the amount of 200 000 rubbles, which will help to realize the business idea. The aim of the project is to use the potential of women for economic development and increase their motivation in creating their own business. The project is designed for women who need to combine professional self-realization with family care. Women with minor children and women on maternity leave are invited to participate in the project.

Speaking about training and additional education of women who are on leave to care for a child up to the age of 3 years, it should be noted that the relevant activities are related to women who before leaving on leave were not associated with business, while on paid leave, these women have the opportunity to attend free training courses and receive theoretical knowledge, as well as practical competence on a wide range of issues: legislation, accounting and reporting, financing and lending, leasing, franchising, personnel work, advertising, as well as production management. After the holidays, given the high level of children's institutions in Russia, these women have the opportunity to start their own business. One of the advantages of business activity in comparison with hired work, for women, is possibility of use of non-standard work schedules that allow reducing a problem of care of children and elderly family members.

Financial Support

Skolkovo Foundation: Is an accelerator that opts for the diversification of the Russian economy and aims to create a sustainable ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation. The foundation provides grants and subventions to all participants from different categories. Subventions and grants can go from 30, 150 and 300 million rubbles depending on the stage of the presented project. For minigrants, it is up to 5 million rubbles and it grants microcredit to holders of well-given projects to facilitate their autonomy which is 1.5 million rubbles

Moscow Seed Fund: It was created by the government with the support of RVC JSC in order to create a favorable conditions for the development of venture investment by granting loans to innovative companies. With an interest rate of 4%, payment can begin after 2 years. The maximum loan donation is 36 million rubbles and the maximum term of the loan depends on the requested amount of funds that the flow:

ь up to 8 million rubles-50% and 3 years

ь up to 12 million rubles-75% and 4 years

ь up to 18 million rubles-100% and 5 years

up to 36 million rubles-200% and 6 years

(`'Фонд Содействия Инновациям'') (The Fund for The Promotion of Innovation) It is a state non-profit organization in the form of a federal state budgetary institution established in accordance with Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of February 3, 1994 No. 65. The main objectives are implementation of the state policy of development and support in the scientific and technical field Creation and development of support infrastructure, Promoting the creation of new jobs for the effective use of the scientific and technical potential of the Russian Federation, Financial, informational and other assistance, Involving youth in innovation, Attracting extrabudgetary investments in the field of small innovative entrepreneurship.

The Russian Direct Investment fund (RDIF): Create since 2011 under the leadership of the president and Prime Minister of Russia for co-investment alongside major global investors acting as a catalyst for direct investment in leading and promising Russian companies is a Russian sovereign wealth fund with a reserved capital of $ 10 billion under management. The foundation has invested and committed 1.7 billion roubles for this purpose, of which 170 billion dollars in roubles alone and 1.6 billion roubles came from co-investors, partners and banks. This foundation has also attracted more than 40 billion dollars of foreign capital to the Russian economy through long-term strategic partnerships such as: improving the quality of life, infrastructure development, Substitution of imports and export opportunities, regional development, efficiency growth, technological development.

The Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF) is a venture capital fund that invests between 2.5 million and 324 million rubbles in technology companies has an early stage and aims to provide start-ups with educational and expert support in order to make Russia more attractive to technology entrepreneurs. Also make the market understandable and accessible to everyone who wants to start and develop business on the internet. Russia far east development fund.

Among the financial supports and credits offers we can mention many other foundations such as:

ь Russian Venture Company (RVC JSC)

ь Funds created with the participation of the capital of RVC JSC

ь Russia: ISIC Foundation and sustainable development fund (оонд устойчивое развитие)

ь Zayed entrepreneurship and innovation Fund

ь Transcapitalbank

Non- Financial Support

The World Association of Women Entrepreneurs (FCEM): The speaker's organisation supports women entrepreneurs from 120 countries. Its participants by means of web-platform and meetings exchange experience, find new business contacts, and develop their projects together.

All-Russian Women in Business: organisation not only unites and supports women entrepreneurs in Russia, but also serves as a voice highlighting their success stories and helping to build communication between government and women in business. Modern Russia's businesswomen have many opportunities thanks to the IT sphere and creation of governmental programmes of support of women's entrepreneurship, small and medium-sized businesses, and so forth. The main thing is not to lose the chance they have and believe in themselves. (the Eurasian Women's Community is an independent news agency founded by the Institute for the Humanities and Information Technologies non-governmental educational institution.)

Global Venture Alliance: is a start-up accelerator. Accepts start-ups working on a wide range of technologies and sectors. As of Jan 2018, 400+ start-ups have graduated from the program. The accelerator runs its programs in Russia and the USA.

WINNO-Moscow: is a team of entrepreneurs who engage with start-ups, and corporations to foster innovation and solve global challenges. Also, a leading Russian innovation hub that combines an accelerator, open to innovation center, community development platform, and co-working.

MSU Business Incubator: Business Incubator of the Moscow State University is a start-up incubator which runs a 4-month long program. Accepts start-ups working on a wide range of technologies and sectors. The accelerator runs its programs in Russia.

iDealMachine: It is a start-up accelerator which runs a 3.5month long program. As of Feb 2018, 23 start-ups have graduated from the program. The accelerator runs its programs in Moscow. Accepts start-ups working on a wide range of technologies and sectors.

BitBlock Group: Blockchain & cryptocurrency VC and incubator firm BitBlock Group is a blockchain & cryptocurrency venture capital and incubator firm with offices in the US, China and Singapore. They make early-stage digital asset investments focused on IoT, financial services and AI sectors. Offers project incubation services including customer retention management, financial advisory and selling point devising.

Summary of Russia female entrepreneurs' opportunities

GENERAL	Financial Support	Non- Financial Support
Innovative capacity (GEM18-19) Capacity of international sales Express for current purposes Express for investments Mother-entrepreneur by Higher School of Economics and "SUPPORT of Russia".	Skolkovo Foundation Moscow Seed Fund. The Fund for The Promotion of Innovation The Russian Direct Investment fund (RDIF) The Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF)	The World Association of Women Entrepreneurs (FCEM) 120 countries All-Russian Women in Business Global Venture Alliance: Russia and USA. WINNO-Moscow MSU Business Incubator iDealMachine BitBlock Group

Source: developed by the Author

3.2 Opportunities of Nigerien female entrepreneurs

With regard to national and local (municipal) private sector development strategies (at State, Ministry, municipal, provincial, etc. level): Niger has an "economic and Social Development Plan" covering the period 2017-2021; however, this document does not specifically address private sector development mechanisms.

To illustrate the socio-economic situation of Niger, some essential data: in 2016 the GDP per capita was 381.1 USD (Niger Statistical Yearbook Edition, 2017) and the unemployment rate was 15.9% of which 11.78% for men and 24.95% for women. We could not find a more up-to-date reliable index of the unemployment rate. With a view to strengthening the institutional and legal framework for youth entrepreneurship in Niger, the state of Niger and its partners decided to update the National Strategic Framework for promoting youth entrepreneurship taking into account the opportunities

Youth of the population

Young people are therefore an asset, but they are also extremely vulnerable. They face great economic and social uncertainties. Too often, their potential is not fully exploited because they do not have access to productive and decent jobs

Rich historical and cultural heritage quality of handicraft products

Indeed Niger has a wide variety of historical site that can attract tourists who can get products of the rich and varied Nigerian crafts.

Considerable potential in minerals and potential in raw materials;

indeed the basement is full of a great wealth of minerals whose exploitation is insufficient.

Agro-Sylvio-pastoral potential

National Water potential geographical Position

At the regional level for West Africa, there is a trade opening of borders that facilitates inter-African trade, by removing tariff and non-tariff barriers. This area called the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) aims to create this large space conducive to the development of trade, and industry. On the side-lines of the extraordinary summit of AU Heads of State and government, there was recently (July 5, 2019) the official launch of the 2019 edition of the FTAA Business Forum. The question remains whether this is a decisive advantage for the business community, which must be able to make the most of the opportunities offered by this new legal and policy framework for intra-African investment and, more generally, for business.

At the national level of Niger, it is worth noting the existence of the new strategy for the Promotion of Youth Entrepreneurship: developed since 2008 by the state of Niger and its partners in the framework of the National Youth Policy and the National Strategic Framework for the Promotion of Youth Entrepreneurship. However, it must be noted that this does not take into account the current concerns of beneficiaries and key actors in the field. Thus, with a view to strengthening the institutional and legal framework for youth entrepreneurship in Niger, The State has decided to update the National Strategic Framework for the Promotion of Youth Entrepreneurship. The total cost of the implementation of the strategy, over a five-year period (2020-2025), is estimated at FCFA 3 billion 639 million (EUR 5.6 million), of which FCFA 478 million (EUR 727,060) is for the pilot programme and FCFA 195 million (EUR 296,600) for the installation and operation of the field unit. Funds from the national budget will be used from January 2020 to accelerate the start of activities. In total, 60% of the funding will be provided from the national budget. The rest of the resources will be sought from development partners, many of whom are already working for young people, through multiple projects and programmes.

The Decree No. 2016-624 / PM of 14 November 2016, specifying the responsibilities of the members of the government, the Ministry of Youth Entrepreneurship is responsible, in conjunction with the other ministries concerned, and in accordance with the guidelines defined by the government, for the design, development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the National Policy on Youth Entrepreneurship. In this capacity, he is responsible for:

identify the sectors conducive to a massive entrepreneurship of young people, graduates or not;

design in conjunction with other ministries the strategies for training, coaching and coaching young entrepreneurs;

design a coherent, rational policy to support the financing of the activities of young entrepreneurs;

promote youth entrepreneurship by developing programmes to support youth entrepreneurship;

promote old and new funding mechanisms for young graduates ' projects.

This Ministry of Youth Entrepreneurship has set itself the strategic objective of promoting entrepreneurship. All these actions are in line with the sub-programme "5.7: development of youth entrepreneurship" of programme 5 of Axis 3 contained in the DEP 2017-2021 and its priority action Plan. The main actions included in the PAP are facilitating young people's access to credit; strengthening support structures for young entrepreneurs; building the capacity of young promoters and entrepreneurs and creating decent jobs for young people in agriculture and livestock.

The National Agency for the Promotion of employment (ANPE) is also a major player ; it is a public administrative institution established in 1996 ; it is responsible, inter alia, for the placement of jobseekers and for contributing to the development and implementation of a national employment policy, in particular through the implementation of programmes for the integration and reintegration of jobseekers, their orientation and actions aimed at promoting employment. More recently, the Company House was created by Decree No. 2012-247/PRN/MC/PSP/MM / DI of 30 May 2012, and its main mission is to strengthen the economic fabric through the emergence of competitive companies and the improvement of the business climate. The mission of the Maison de l'entreprise is to facilitate the procedures and administrative procedures for the creation of small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), in particular through the one-stop shop, and to support SMEs in the implementation of management tools adapted to their organizational, technical, financial or commercial needs in order to facilitate their development. It is also useful to mention the task of strengthening the managerial skills of SME managers through information, training, sponsorship and industrial companionship and the identification of obstacles and constraints, as well as to propose to the competent authorities the necessary organisational and regulatory measures to remedy them; and finally to set up and animate the Observatory of small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. La maison de l'entreprise is a unifying and dynamic tool at the service of companies. It aims, on the one hand, to enable project owners and entrepreneurs to have access in one place to a structured offer of services dedicated to it and, on the other hand, to ensure a better synergy of the actions of the various partners in favour of the private sector. The establishment of the business house in 2012 is one of the most relevant institutional reforms undertaken to facilitate and alleviate the procedures for setting up businesses. However, this structure is currently only present in Niamey and Zinder

Financial support

The sources of financial support for female entrepreneurship in Niger can be summarized in these points:

Tontine

Financial assistance from parents

Personal economy

United Nations Development programme (UNDP))

The national budget through the Youth Entrepreneurship Fund

The mobile phone company orange Niger.

Non-financial support

In addition to the financial assistance that will be granted to them, young entrepreneurs' benefit, in the implementation of their business project, from the accompaniment of the Company House and its partners. They will benefit from the support of a mentor, in this case an experienced entrepreneur or an expert working in the same field of activity.

Young entrepreneurs also benefit from the moral support of friends and relatives.



Summary of Niger female entrepreneurs' opportunities

GENERAL	Financial support	Non-financial support
Young population Rich historical and cultural heritage Quality of craft products Considerable mineral potential Raw materials potential Agro-silvo-pastoral potential National water potential Geographical position	United Nations Development programme (UNDP)) The national budget through the Youth Entrepreneurship Fund The mobile phone company orange Niger Tontine Financial assistance from parents Personal economy	Acceleration program of the Company House and its partners. Support from mentors. Experts working in the same field of activity. Moral support from friends and relatives.

Source: developed by the Author



4. Review of obstacles for female entrepreneurship

· Theoretical summary of obstacles

Considering the differences in the nature of female entrepreneurship in different countries, as well as in the contexts in which it exists, the researchers nevertheless highlight common barriers that prevent women from embarking on an entrepreneurial career. The main and first dominant obstacle that has existed in women entrepreneurship is the fear of failure and to succeed in their business. They are scared to lose their primarily finances and their credibility in the public eyes if that happens, the are also afraid of the unknown which is their capacity to balance to work full-time and family duties. Sometimes their fears of success can reach a level that even if their business stop growing, they prefer not to react to make it better but keep up with it (Walthour, 2016). The issue of women having a harder time getting finance than men for the same business opportunity is common also for Russia and Niger. In a study conducted by (Gallyamov, 2016) revealed that women entrepreneurship has obstacles such as cultural prejudices, Government policies, insufficient financing, sociocultural conditions, corruption of public officials and lack of entrepreneurial qualities and skills including appropriate education and work experience and only 29% of respondents can invest their own funds while 43% of female entrepreneurs hope to receive funds from relatives and friends. In general, women lack not only hard resources, like finance or capital assets, but also soft resources like management experience and networks. According to the (OECD, 2012) women are underrepresented in entrepreneurship due to their less experience in management and leadership when they start up a business.

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