Stories from female micro-entrepreneurs

In low-income countries, 88% of working-age women earn income through self-employment, yet they are more likely than men to be disadvantaged when it comes to accessing the resources they need to start, run and grow a business. Mobile phones can provide a gateway to business services, resources and information that may not be within easy reach otherwise.

In these videos, six women from Africa and Asia share stories of their small businesses; from what drives them each day, to the challenges they face. They describe how access to a mobile phone helps them to more easily run and grow their business, enabling them to communicate with customers, promote their products and learn new skills.

For more on this topic, download ‘Empowering women micro-entrepreneurs through mobile’, a landscape report on how women micro-entrepreneurs use mobile for business in low- and middle-income countries.

Sheila's story

Sheila runs a juice business in Accra, Ghana. She describes how she uses uses Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp to take orders from customers, and how she relies on her mobile to take photos and videos of her products in order to promote them on social media.

Asma's story

Asma is a seamstress living in Lahore, Pakistan. She doesn't own a mobile phone and relies on her husband's to be able to take photos of her work and communicate with her customers via WhatsApp. In this video she describes the many challenges of trying to run and grow her small business without the use of her own mobile phone.

Elizabeth's story

Elizabeth is from Buruburu, Kenya and she owns and runs a food stall in the market. She uses her mobile phone to take orders and payments from customers and to promote her products via Facebook.

Fauzia's story

Fauzia runs a salon in Lucknow, India. She describes how she uses GPay and Paytm to take payment from clients, how she teaches herself new skills using YouTube, and also how she uses the internet to research her competitors.

Arabelle's story

Arabelle from Haatso, Ghana designs and makes clothes. She uses her mobile phone to post her designs on Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok, and she uses WhatsApp to communicate with her customers.