Entrepreneurial inclinations of women from rural areas

Abstract

Entrepreneurial inclinations of women from rural areas are shaped by the lack of business ideas and economic capital, which, in addition to financial resources, includes cultural capital in the form of knowledge and skills. The paper presents a part of a broader study on the social position of women from the rural areas of northern Kosovo and Metohija, conducted in 2013. The research was predominantly focused on entrepreneurial inclinations of rural women, and the findings suggest that private enterprise in the studied population is undeveloped as a result of two dominant reasons. The first reason is the situation which is unfavorable in terms of politics and security, and therefore, not conducive to investment security, together with the specificity in the form of complex administrative business conditions requiring compliance to parallel and mutually incompatible standards (of the Republic of Serbia and of the UNMIK administration). The second important reason for the lack of entrepreneurial initiatives is the lack of ownership of property and the means of production, since banks do not give loans without guarantees in the form of ownership of the mortgage, while other forms of financial incentives are unavailable.

The respondents attended programs for acquiring new knowledge and skills only in a small number of cases, while showing the greatest susceptibility to education in traditional skills, such as training in agriculture and handicrafts, which are not the skills in line with the needs of the labor market. As the most important reasons that prevent them from having their own business, the respondents mentioned: the lack of ideas and the lack of financial resources. In this regard, they would find incentives in the form of grants most helpful to start their own business. The absence of funds and gender inequality form the basis for the lack of ownership of property and means of production. In addition to the shortage of financial resources, knowledge and skills, entrepreneurial inclinations of rural women from northern Kosovo and Metohija are inhibited by: the limited freedom of movement of goods and services, the lack of access to financial institutions aimed at developing small and medium-sized enterprises, and the uncertainty of investing in areas with a high investment risk. The unstable political circumstances create a series of obstacles, specific and incompatible procedures for the registration and operation of enterprises within the laws of the Republic of Serbia and the UNMIK administration being one of them.

In addition to structural changes, it is necessary to work on increasing the social capital of rural women by nurturing the culture of association and organization. In addition to investments in social skills, it is very important to expand education programs for rural population with alternative educational programs related to labor market needs (courses in foreign languages, art, computer science, etc.). Finally, it is necessary to help maintaining authentic cultural activities that would bring entertainment and incite a desire to participate in community life.