The development of female entrepreneurship in the past two decades is associated with democracy and strengthening equality between men and women. Although the number of female entrepreneurs varies from country to country, some statistics indicate that women in Europe start or have started every fourth new business. This is an increasingly common topic in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) as well.
Azra Gegic from Tuzla founded her brand in 2015 and successfully sells a collection of women’s handmade footwear worldwide. The beginning, she says, was difficult.
“Especially since this is like a “man’s job”. I was 23 years old at the time and it was quite challenging to gain the trust of a partner, a craftsman, but somehow I guess by working together we managed to build a very good relationship,” says Azra, an entrepreneur.
Ljubica Jurisic’s employer 20 years ago was a man who was not in the hairdressing profession. Since she did all the work herself, that’s when she decided to start her own business. She has been doing it successfully for two decades.
“In small businesses, there are advantages and disadvantages, sacrifices, but also freedom. You need to be independent in every way. We all need to invest in ourselves because everything can be taken away, but what you invest in yourself cannot,” says Ljubica Jurisic, an entrepreneur.
Female entrepreneurship is an important link in the fight against discrimination against women who are more inclined to introduce creativity and innovation. This was proven by interior designer Zerina Islamovic from Lukavac, who returned to her country from Florida after her studies, having already been working on construction sites for seven years.
“I have a feeling that women are empowered to deal with many things that they did not dare to deal with until now. For example, interior design is a relatively new concept, and until now it was usually male architects who were doing this job,” says Zerina Islamovic, an entrepreneur.
Like men, women are inclined to take risks and have a developed entrepreneurial spirit, but the biggest difficulties are in the availability of financial resources and education. Although there are roundtable discussions and incentive programs, it mostly refers to the non-governmental sector and it is not enough to be able to talk about the success of Halida Hasanovic from Gradacac, who has been engaged in beekeeping and honey products for six years, but at the beginning she had no support.
“I started by taking two swarms for myself. I had no support whatsoever. Now there are some incentives through the Association, but that is very small compared to the costs,” says Halida Hasanovic, an entrepreneur.
Female entrepreneurship has the power to transform the entire society. It not only creates new jobs but also encourages creativity. Therefore, support from all levels of government and the non-governmental sector is necessary for women entrepreneurs, say our interlocutors, BHRT reports.
E.Dz.
