Visiting the Digital Divide: Women Entrepreneurs in Central America

Abstract

Micro and small enterprises comprise approximately 60–70% of enterprises in South and Central America. Most of these enterprises, particularly micro enterprises, are managed and owned by women. These women for the most part lack both skills and training in the use of computers and the Internet, and access to the use of information and communication technologies (ICT). At the same time they have extensive experience in running their businesses. The connectivity of enterprises is generally fairly low, and the lack of computer literacy is high. The challenge is to provide an infrastructure and connectivity to these enterprises, as well as sustainable technological support and financing for the connectivity. This study analyzes some aspects of the training of women entrepreneurs in the use of ICT and the impacts of this training. It also focuses on lessons learned during the process of design and implementation of the training. The focus is particularly on female micro and small entrepreneurs' ICT training in Costa Rica. This study also includes comparative data from Bolivia, a country with one of the lowest teledensities in Latin America and a low level of connectivity of enterprises. The impact of training has been evaluated and recommendations presented for sustainability of this kind of training. Three main recommendations resulting from this study were: training has to be connected to the needs of entrepreneurs; technological support has to be provided on a continuous basis; and financing of investments needs to be accessible and feasible.