Munay is a social venture that was born in 2020 with the objective of contributing to the economic empowerment of women entrepreneurs.
Munay is a word of Quechua origin that means to love. From that conception Munay talks about the will of love, which is as simple as walking together in the same direction, even if we are different in body and mind.
Through our digital platform we allow entrepreneurs to have greater visibility through the creation of their venture’s profile, connect with experts (Ñañays) who provide technical advice to strengthen their skills, and with donors (Kumpitas) who contribute financially to their crowdfunding campaigns.
Munay’s first initiative was the launch of the contest “Soy una emprendedora Munay”, which ran from November 15 to December 17, 2021. During the application period, we received 167 proposals of which 15 made it to the next round and had the opportunity to present their projects and crowdfunding campaigns to a national and international jury. After an arduous qualification, five entrepreneurs were selected to go live with their campaigns and raise the necessary funds to continue with their ventures.
The purpose of this report is to analyze the applications received in the “Soy una emprendedora Munay” contest.
Age of female entrepreneurs
Knowing the age of our entrepreneurs is important because it helps us to communicate more effectively with them. Through age it is possible to infer the generation to which they belong in order to modify the communication channels we use.
| Age | Frecuency | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 30-40 years old | 56 | 39% |
| 25-30 years old | 41 | 29% |
| 18-24 years old | 21 | 15% |
| 40-50 years old | 18 | 13% |
| More than 50 years old | 7 | 5% |
Based on a survey answered by 143 of the applicants.
68% of women entrepreneurs are between 25 and 40 years old .
Initial investment
Existing research on female entrepreneurship establishes that 82% of women start their businesses restricted to their personal savings. Social and cultural practices cause assets to be generally in the father’s name, making it impossible for women to obtain a bank loan because they do not have the necessary collateral.
Our report confirms the above, 79% of women entrepreneurs started their business with their own resources.
| Financing source | Frecuency | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Own resources | 112 | 79% |
| Loan from family and friends | 17 | 12% |
| Bank loan | 6 | 4% |
| Other | 4 | 3% |
| Investor | 2 | 1% |
| Donation | 1 | 1% |
Based on a survey answered by 143 of the applicants.
Applications per city
We received applications from seven cities of Bolivia with the following distribution:
| City | Frecuency | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| La Paz | 79 | 47% |
| Cochabamba | 34 | 20% |
| Santa Cruz | 25 | 15% |
| Chuquisaca | 11 | 7% |
| Oruro | 9 | 5% |
| Tarija | 7 | 4% |
| Potosí | 2 | 1% |
82% of women entrepreneurs are located in the trunk axis of our country.
Phase of the ventures
A venture goes through different stages:
- Seed stage: In the seed or ideation phase, the business idea is conceived and the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is developed, which will allow testing the product or service.
- Early stage: In this stage, ventures already have their first clients and can start their iteration process based on the feedback obtained. In this way, their MVP becomes a tangible product or service.
- Growth stage: At this stage, the ventures already have an abundant customer segment. It is important to emphasize that at this point the venture will need a larger number of workers.
- Expansion stage: At this stage the venture is ready to expand into new segments or markets.
We received applications from ventures that are in different stages, from ideation to functional ventures ready to expand. 87% of the ventures registered on our platform are working. However, only 30 of them are ready to expand.
| At what stage is your venture? | Frecuency | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| I have the base of my business with my first clients | 77 | 46% |
| I have a large segment of customers who have validated my product or service | 39 | 23% |
| I have a functional business ready to expand | 30 | 18% |
| It is just an idea | 21 | 13% |
The graph above shows that La Paz has a greater presence of ventures in the seed, early and growth phases. However, Cochabamba leads in the number of ventures ready to expand.
Lifetime of the ventures
The average life of a venture is 26 months, they have a high mortality rate. 55% of ventures have less than one year of life .
| Lifetime | Frecuency | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 0-12 months | 92 | 55% |
| 13-24 months | 39 | 23% |
| 25-36 months | 15 | 9% |
| 36-48 months | 6 | 4% |
| 48-60 months | 7 | 4% |
| 61-72 months | 5 | 3% |
| 73-84 months | 1 | 1% |
| 85-96 months | 1 | 1% |
| 241-252 months | 1 | 1% |
Gender lens criteria
Munay’s main objective is to contribute to the empowerment of women entrepreneurs. Thus, in order to be part of our community it is important that the ventures comply with at least one of the following gender alens criteria:
- Gender lens criterion 1: Have 51% women owners or have been founded by one or more women.
- Gender lens criterion 2: Have at least 30% of senior management positions held by women.
- Gender lens criterion 3: Have at least 40% of positions held by women.
- Gender lens criterion 4: Offer products or services that improve the quality of life of women.
| Gender lens criteria that the venture meet | Frecuency | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
|
147 | 88% |
|
19 | 11% |
|
149 | 89% |
|
14 | 8% |
About 90% of the ventures comply with the gender lens criteria 1 and 3 referred to business ownership and gender equity in the workforce.
Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals were adopted by 193 countries in 2015 with the aim of eliminating poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.
The 17 goals address today’s major global issues and are interrelated, as progress in one area will have an impact on others.
| SDGs that the venture meet | Frecuency | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| SDG 12 | 73 | 44% |
| SDG 8 | 53 | 32% |
| SDG 3 | 37 | 22% |
| SDG 5 | 9 | 5% |
| SDG 4 | 6 | 4% |
| SDG 10 | 5 | 3% |
| SDG 15 | 4 | 2% |
| SDG 2 | 4 | 2% |
| SDG 1 | 1 | 1% |
| SDG 13 | 1 | 1% |
| SDG 16 | 1 | 1% |
| SDG 6 | 1 | 1% |
| SDG 9 | 1 | 1% |
The Sustainable Development Goals to which our women entrepreneurs contribute most are SDG 12: Responsible production and consumption and SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth.
Sector of the ventures
The sectors most targeted by women entrepreneurs are food and beverages, arts and culture, and beauty and personal care. These three sectors account for 56% of women entrepreneurs in the Munay community.
| Sector | Frecuency | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Food and beverage | 50 | 30% |
| Arts and culture | 23 | 14% |
| Beauty and personal care | 20 | 12% |
| Manufacturing | 17 | 10% |
| Clothing and apparel | 16 | 10% |
| Design | 12 | 7% |
| Education | 9 | 5% |
| Health and wellness | 9 | 5% |
| Consumer goods | 6 | 4% |
| Animal care | 5 | 3% |
| Community development projects | 5 | 3% |
| Commerce and shopping | 4 | 2% |
| Photography and video | 3 | 2% |
| Environment | 3 | 2% |
| Sustainability | 3 | 2% |
| Sport | 2 | 1% |
| Platforms | 2 | 1% |
| Transportation | 2 | 1% |
| Travel and tourism | 2 | 1% |
| Mobile applications | 1 | 1% |
| Science and engineering | 1 | 1% |
| Events | 1 | 1% |
| Music | 1 | 1% |
| Cleaning services | 1 | 1% |
| Sales and marketing | 1 | 1% |
Mentoring areas
Identifying the areas in which our women entrepreneurs need support is fundamental for Munay because this way we can tailor our seminars and contact experts to help them improve their procedures and continue with the development of their businesses.
The three areas in which women entrepreneurs need the most support are digital marketing, sales strategies and financial planning.
| Mentoring area | Frecuency | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Digital marketing | 109 | 65% |
| Sales strategies | 108 | 65% |
| Financial planning | 105 | 63% |
| Strategic planning | 89 | 53% |
| Brand design | 78 | 47% |
| Accounting | 72 | 43% |
| Legal advisory | 67 | 40% |
| Market research | 67 | 40% |
| Taxation | 53 | 32% |
| Software development | 27 | 16% |
| Other | 7 | 4% |
| Nothing | 5 | 3% |
The following chart shows the mentorships that the ventures need according to the stage they are in:
Social media and ventures
A very important step when it comes to entrepreneurship is to make your business idea known in the market. Social networks play an important role in this task, as they allow reaching the target audience more quickly, making the product or service known and initiating the basis of communication with customers.
Social networks are an essential tool and a letter of introduction to show how serious and committed the venture is; it helps to have a better interaction with customers, provide a better quality of service and offer a service or product.
Social media are accessible to anyone and the investment that the entrepreneur must make is practically null compared to the investment in traditional media such as TV or radio.
The objective of this section is to know the digital tools used by our entrepreneurs. To this end, we will analyze the use of websites, Facebook and Instagram.
Website
82% of women entrepreneurs do not have a website.
Facebook
26% of women entrepreneurs do not have a Facebook page for their venture.
Instagram
46% of women entrepreneurs do not have an Instagram page for their venture.
22% of women entrepreneurs do not have a presence on social media. This is surprising considering that 98% of women entrepreneurs would be interested in selling their products through the Munay platform.