The Small and Medium Enterprise Administration (SMEA) is introducing lending programs offering approximately NT$4 million (US$121,760) in loans to women entrepreneurs, it said yesterday.
The agency, under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, will offer loans to women aged 20 through 45 who seek to start businesses with fewer than five employees.
WHITE PAPER
In a White Paper last year, the government said that of 1.26 million businesses countrywide, about 443,000 are owned by women, SMEA Deputy Director-General Huang Wen-Guu (黃文谷) said at a press conference. About 36 percent of the small and medium companies and 18.22 percent of the large firms were founded by women.
Huang said entrepreneurship by women was a “surprising and positive trend for the local economy that reflects a narrowing gender gap.”
“To continue the momentum, we are also introducing legal assistance, professional workshops, trade matching and classes on computer-related [skills] to decrease the digital gap and introduce citizens to the opportunities that e-commerce can offer,” he said.
WOMEN’S NETWORK
The SMEA said it also offers one-on-one counseling for entrepreneurs through its Taiwan Women’s Business Network, which includes more than 75 members of company boards, 40 attorneys and 23 start-up experts.
The SMEA said it believes it is crucial for women to step out of the home and into the workplace during times of financial difficulty.
It will hold seminars on Sept. 11, Sept. 15 and Sept. 16, in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung to inform potential women entrepreneurs about incentives including financial aid. Details are available at www.moeasmea.gov.tw
2004 INITIATIVE
Since the government launched an initiative in 2004 to encourage women to start businesses, the SMEA has helped 492 startups get off the ground and generate more than 2,900 jobs and NT$4.5 billion in domestic investment, SMEA statistics showed.
Huang said he believed certain traits gave women an entrepreneurial advantage, adding that most companies run by women stay in business for years.
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