UN CSW67 Side Event: Empowering Women Micro-entrepreneurs in the Digital Age

<p>Micro-enterprises contribute significantly to economies and societies, and are the dominant form of employment in <strong>low-and middle-income countries (LMICs)</strong>. It is estimated that in emerging markets, there are over 400 million micro-enterprises, including up to 345 million informal micro-enterprises.&nbsp;</p><p>In low-income countries, <strong>88% of working age women earn income through self-employment</strong>, yet they are more likely than men to be disadvantaged when it comes to accessing resources to start, run and grow a business. Mobile phones are a crucial tool for supporting female micro-entrepreneurs, providing them with access to markets, business services, resources and information that they would not be able to easily access otherwise.&nbsp;</p><p>However, <strong>in LMICs, women are 16% less likely than men to use mobile internet</strong>,18% less likely than men to own a smartphone and 28% less likely than men to own a mobile money account . Urgent action is needed to bridge the mobile gender gap to ensure that women micro-entrepreneurs are able to realize the significant benefits that mobile can provide and that they are not being left behind in an increasingly connected world.&nbsp;</p><p>This session brings together the public and private sector, the international development community and civil society to discuss the challenges and opportunities for <strong>empowering women micro-entrepreneurs through mobile</strong>. It aims to inform and inspire action for improving the digital and financial inclusion of women micro-entrepreneurs, delivering benefits not only for the women themselves but also for economies, communities and households.</p>