Opportunities for the Development of Women-Led Businesses and Clusters via Collective Marks and Certifications Marks
In Mongolia, micro and small businesses, often led by women entrepreneurs, face various challenges, including a weak supply chain, transportation issues, lack of networks, and barriers to accessing finance, among others. Among the pressing issues are:
- Investment: A lack of collateral complicates access to loans, while non-bank financial institutions impose exorbitant interest rates, placing businesses at considerable risk.
- Raw Material Procurement: High procurement costs persist due to limited production quantities characteristic of small and medium enterprises.
- Sales Channels: Limited product sales avenues exist, often constrained by large retailers’ specific product requirements and minimum order thresholds.
- Operations: Small enterprises frequently grapple with limited human resources. Additionally, skills in areas such as cost calculation and management expertise are scarce.
Exploring and implementing the use of collective marks and certification marks and how women entrepreneurs in Mongolia can harness these tools to their advantage may offer a promising avenue for enhancing business efficiencies and market competitiveness. This paper endeavors to leverage international precedents, drawing from those experiences to develop an optimal system to pave the way for creating distinctive marks tailored to women-led businesses and clusters in Mongolia.
This paper was funded by the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada under The Asia Foundation’s Women’s Economic Empowerment project. The opinions expressed here are solely of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Global Affairs Canada or the Foundation.
