Developing Women's Entrepreneurship and E
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DEVELOPING WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND E-BUSINESS IN GREEN COOPERATIVES IN THE ASIAN AND PACIFIC REGION ESCAP is the regional development arm of the United Nations and serves as the main economic and social development centre for the United Nations in Asia and the Pacific. Its mandate is to foster cooperation between its 53 members and 9 associate members. ESCAP provides the strategic link between global and country-level programmes and issues. It supports Governments of countries in the region in consolidating regional positions and advocates regional approaches to meeting the region’s unique socio-economic challenges in a globalizing world. The ESCAP office is located in Bangkok, Thailand. Please visit the ESCAP website at <www.unescap.org> for further information. The shaded areas of the map are ESCAP members and associate members. DEVELOPING WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND E-BUSINESS IN GREEN COOPERATIVES IN THE ASIAN AND PACIFIC REGION United Nations New York, 2007 i GUIDEBOOK ON DEVELOPING WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN GREEN COOPERATIVES IN THE ASIAN AND PACIFIC REGION Copyright © United Nations 2007 All rights reserved ST/ESCAP/2468 This guidebook was developed by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in partnership with the Asia Pacific Women’s Information Network Center (APWINC) as part of one of many activities of the ESCAP project entitled “Establishment of Sustainable e-Business and Network for Green Cooperative Enterprises for Women in Rural Communities”, which was funded by the Government of the Republic of Korea. The Project was coordinated by the ICT Applications Section of the Information, Communication and Space Technology Division and the Gender Development Section of the Emerging Social Issues Division of ESCAP. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The opinions, figures and estimates set forth in this publication are the responsibility of the authors, and should not necessarily be considered as reflecting the views or carrying the endorsement of the United Nations. Mention of firm names and commercial products does not imply the endorsement of the United Nations. This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part for educational or non-profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holder, provided that the source is acknowledged. The ESCAP Publications Office would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as a source. No use may be made of this publication for resale or any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission. Applications for such permission, with a statement of the purpose and extent of reproduction, should be addressed to the Secretary of the Publications Board, the United Nations, New York. This publication has been issued without formal editing. References have, whenever possible, been verified. ii Preface Empowering rural women by promoting women’s entrepreneurship and e-business in cooperatives has been identified as an important approach to alleviate rural poverty and promote sustainable development. The promotion of women’s entrepreneurship and e-business in the niche area of green or “organic” cooperatives is a relatively undeveloped area where women can play a pioneering role. As there is little literature on this relatively new area, this publication seeks to provide an initial exploration to this niche area of cooperatives and the opportunities for women’s entrepreneurship and e-business development. This publication is a result of Phase I of the ESCAP project “Establishment of Sustainable E- Business and Network for Green Cooperative Enterprises for Women in Rural Communities in the Asian and Pacific Region” that was implied during the 2006. The objective of the project is the economic empowerment of rural women through building capacity in entrepreneurship and information and communication technology skills to enable them to produce and market their green products. This guidebook attempts to promote women’s entrepreneurship and e-business development by providing policymakers and entrepreneurs with background on this niche area, potential entrepreneurship and e-business development opportunities through the formation of women’s cooperatives, and its implications for rural development. ESCAP is grateful to Wim Polman, Young-Ock Kim, Roger Harris, and to those who generously contributed their comments and feedback for the benefit of the publication and for the promotion of cooperatives. iii Contents Page Preface ............................................................................................................................................................. iii 1. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................1 1.1. Purpose of the Guidebook ..............................................................................................2 1.2. Definition of terms .........................................................................................................2 1.3. Target audience...............................................................................................................3 1.4. Methodology and restrictions .........................................................................................3 1.5. Structure of Report .........................................................................................................4 PART I WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN GREEN COOPERATIVES ...................................5 2. GREEN COOPERATIVES IN THE DEVELOPMENT CONTEXT.....................................6 2.1. Why promote women’s entrepreneurship in green or “organic” products?....................6 2.2. Challenges and opportunities of women farmers ...........................................................6 2.3. Women and rural poverty ...............................................................................................7 2.4. Women’s gendered rural constraints...............................................................................9 2.5. The traditional role of women in agriculture................................................................10 2.6. Promotion of women’s entrepreneurship in rural areas................................................10 2.7. Green cooperatives and sustainable development ........................................................11 3. PROMOTING WOMEN’S GREEN COOPERATIVES........................................................13 3.1. What is a cooperative?..................................................................................................13 3.2. Women’s cooperatives..................................................................................................14 3.3. Cooperatives by their functions....................................................................................15 3.3.1. Farmers’ and agricultural producers’ cooperatives .......................................15 3.3.2. Agro and food processing cooperatives ........................................................16 3.3.3. Marketing cooperatives.................................................................................16 3.3.4. Agricultural cooperative banks, credit unions, and.......................................17 microfinance cooperatives 3.3.5. Agricultural consumers’ cooperatives...........................................................17 3.4. Other types of agricultural cooperatives.......................................................................17 3.5. The agricultural cooperative producer-consumer relationship .....................................18 3.6. The organic products market ........................................................................................20 3.7. The Asian market in organic products..........................................................................22 3.8. The trend toward product diversification in agricultural development ........................25 3.9. Policy implications of promoting women’s entrepreneurship in..................................27 green cooperatives 3.10. Women-led cooperatives: women’s ways in entrepreneurship.....................................27 iv 4. REGIONAL STATUS OF WOMEN IN COOPERATIVES AND.........................................29 SUPPORT FOR WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP 4.1. Situation of women in cooperatives in the region ........................................................29 4.2. Constraints on women in agricultural cooperatives......................................................31 4.3. Supportive environment for women’s entrepreneurship...............................................32 and green cooperatives 4.4. Resources needed for women’s entrepreneurship in green cooperatives .....................34 5. GUIDELINES ON WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN ................................................36 GREEN COOPERATIVES 5.1. How to build a rural cooperative ..................................................................................36 5.2. Marketing of rural products..........................................................................................37 5.3. How to build a network for entrepreneurship...............................................................40