WE Act Enables Women Entrepreneurs to Increase Their Revenue Despite the Pandemic
Youth leaders shared ideas during group discussion activity in the five-month training course program on “Entrepreneurial Leadership” for the selected youth leaders, being organized by Lady Saving Group (LSG).
Photo Credit: Lady Saving Group (LSG)
Yet others were able to find success during this difficult time, namely those supported by Pact and its partners in the WE Act project, which include the Lady Saving Group (LSG), SHE Investments (SHE) and The Asia Foundation (TAF). Despite Covid-19, WE Act continued its support for young women entrepreneurs, strengthening their soft and hard business skills, business linkages and networks at a time when they needed it most.
SHE responded to the Covid-19 crisis by shifting its incubator program, an entrepreneurship program for young women to better manage and scale-up their businesses, to virtual trainings. SHE also provided emotional support and additional confidence and decision-making training for young women entrepreneurs (YWEs) to help them run their businesses and maintain their income security. As a result, SHE Investments reported that 75% of graduated YWEs improved their business skills and increased their average collective monthly revenue by 103%.
Lim Chanmoniroth, founder of Ektes Clinic and an incubator graduate, said the trainings helped her improve her financial management. She is more knowledgeable about how to motivate staff, maintain customers and identify target customers, all of which have contributed to better business. “During the Covid-19 pandemic, SHE really supported us with online training, giving us digital marketing ideas. I started to post content on Facebook to get my clinic services better known,” Chanmoniroth said, adding that her revenue has increased.
Virak Bonnarath, a project manager with LSG, said a number of YWEs that they’ve supported have increased their sales after they moved to online sales and began collaborating with food delivery companies such as Food Panda, E-Get or Nham 24. She said doing business during the pandemic means entrepreneurs must be innovative, and LSG has helped YWEs rise to that challenge.
“Firstly, we provided YWEs with capacity building workshops addressing their needs including digital marketing,” Bonnarath said. “Secondly, we have up to $5,000 of micro-loan funds available to them to borrow. Some members take small loans to restore their business by developing a revised business strategy. Thirdly, we provide mentoring and coaching support for their business, lives and family issues, so they feel supported in all aspects of their lives.”ith LSG support, entrepreneurs reported increased knowledge and skills, benefiting their leadership and business. Their total average monthly revenue increased by 51%, and some YWEs reported an increase of up to 200%.
Huong Soken, 33, a shareholder of Elina Co, Ltd., started her business in 2019, with five paid employees. With the support from LSG, she has increased her knowledge of marketing strategies and business value. “I’m more confident to talk about my business because I understand more about its value and have opportunity to present it on media as well,” she said. As a result, her monthly revenue has increased by 25%.
In response to the pandemic, TAF launched a rapid response fund to provide Women in Tek Network members with critical support to get small grants (up to $500 USD) to adapt their business plans to Covid-19 realities and to integrate technology into their businesses.
Results included a revenue increase of 10% after Dr. Rabbit ’s website, a language learning service, was able to launch faster than initially planned, and they added more content onto WTN’s online platforms. TAF also provided an additional service – doing feasibility studies with each of their start-up members to support business operations.
Jazmyn Himel, a TAF program officer, said new business ideas came out of the collaboration among the incubator members. For example, Chhorporn Long, Founder of Hathkal Lab and Dr. Rabbit, collaborated with SEPAK, a Khmer handicrafts e- commerce platform. Together they created a new product, related to essential oil diffusers to sell online that brought additional revenue to SEPAK.
“The WTN received some support to cover the potentially significant losses Covid-19 would have posed on the startups,” Himel said. “They were able to stay afloat thanks to this fund, rather than watch all their hard work fail, as many have during this pandemic.”
Thanks to the support of WE Act, through partners that have taken a focused approach to address the many issues facing young women entrepreneurs during the pandemic, these entrepreneurs have been able to continue their businesses and even make them stronger. This showcases the potential of hard work by entrepreneurs, and how tailored support can make the difference between failure and success during a pandemic.
