Entrepreneurs in the heart of the recovery post-Covid-19 : not so simple !

A campaign is being launched by France Active and the State, but the associations warn on the difficulty. The network the First proposes to create a right to undertake.

Capitalize on the entrepreneurship of women as much as men for the recovery after the crisis of the Covid-19. The intention is laudable. To this end, France Actively starts this Tuesday, June 16, with the secretariat of State for equality between women and men, an information campaign on the social media destination of 30 000 women supported by this network specialized in the social and solidarity economy (that is, half entrepreneurs accompanied), and, beyond that, of all the entrepreneurs of the Hexagon, to remind them of the existing support devices.

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The campaign is based on video testimonials, tips and toolkits that lists all available aid, including the less known or the more recent, such as the loan falls under several (interest-free loan of up to eur 100 000 over 12 to 18 months), which was launched in early may by France Active in favor of the health crisis, and is endowed with 30 million euros.

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companies vulnerable

An approach is necessary but probably not sufficient. Several studies conducted during the balance of female networks among their members have demonstrated the great fragility of businesses created by women. Thus, in April, a survey carried out by the Lab' Moves to your box with some 500 leaders of TPE showed that 40% of them had lost more than 70% of their turnover in a month. More than half of the heads of the surveyed companies (54%) felt their company threatened by a bankruptcy filing.

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For its part, the network First has interviewed close to 200 women at the end of march-beginning of April, the most in the phase of establishment of business : 62% of them say they have had a decline in activity of more than 60% of their turnover. Three-quarters of leaders report having a cash less than six months. A situation that they explain themselves by the under-capitalisation of their company. A quarter considers that it is exposed to the risk of bankruptcy. Even more alarming, half of them have not sought or have not had access to support measures proposed by the State and the different actors of the ecosystem.

As to the association FCE (Femmes chefs d'entreprise) in France, which has more than 1500 members, she has published on may 13, a barometer alarming, according to which 30% of the women surveyed were questioned on the continuation of their activity. The déconfinement-by-step and shuffle to the side structures of childcare and Education has put the entrepreneurs, for many moms, under pressure.

A right to undertake

"we need statistics gendered on the distribution of aid to entrepreneurship, argues Claire Saddy, president of the First Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes. This would arrow shooter more the fund in proportion to the share of women among entrepreneurs." At this stage, for example, the BPI does not have the means to assess whether the EMP has been requested by the women than the men entrepreneurs.

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Already in the initiative, with a score of other networks, the petition "Support women entrepreneurs today to not back tomorrow" (800 signatures collected on Tuesday 16 June), the network First goes a step further by making a proposal unique : the creation of a right of the individual to undertake (on the model of fire the DIF, individual right to training) twenty hours per year, cumulable over six years, giving access to training and / or individual support to entrepreneurship.

access to this measure would be conditioned by a follow-up gendered carried out by the specialized organs of the State. "If the distribution of beneficiaries of this right was not proportional to the percentage of women among the entrepreneurs, the funds have not been used by entrepreneurs would be the subject of an outpayment to associations that support and awareness of female entrepreneurship," says Claire Saddy.

implement the mechanisms-conditionality

A proposal that echoes the recent publication of the High Council for equality between women and men (HCE). On 11 June, the appeal court presided over by Brigitte Gresy published a note entitled "The mechanisms of conditionality as a driver of exit from the crisis". While the State has spent, to date, 460 billion euros of measures to support economic activity in the country, reminds us of the HSC, it would mean "to condition the allocation of public funds or administrative authorizations in compliance with the rules governing joint or of actions for equality between women and men". The HSC, which defends this principle from 2016, calls for a consideration of equality of women and men from the design of public policies, as well as in the deployment of public funding.

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The HCE challenges including the government and the banks about the impact of the allocation or not of such funding on the economic activities of women heads of enterprises. "In time, "normal", is reminiscent of the HCE, the women entrepreneurs have a more difficult access to financial resources and face stereotypes in their funding approach." With the crisis, there is little chance that this improves if we are not careful. "Grants loan are few women heads of companies, sole traders or micro-entrepreneurs, the legal form which they very often use" thus underlines the HCE.

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Conclusion : the need to have statistics gendered in order to avoid any bias in the distribution of aid. Otherwise, the efforts to support the entrepreneurship of women may well be in vain.