Raw data to paper "Productive use of energy of women-owned micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises: Insights from food and textile businesses in selected African countries"

This dataset offers the possibility of conducting a gender-focused analysis of productive energy use, with data from 65 women-owned food and textile businesses across seven African countries: Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Tunisia. These data complement a published research article which investigates to what extent the gender of the enterprise owner correlates with the productive use of energy. Specifically, it explores how women and men differ in their productive use within micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSME). In terms of structure, sheet 1 contains the cleaned initial responses from participants, with basic assumptions added for calculation clarity and transparency. Sheet 2 contains analysed data and calculations as presented in the accompanying research paper covering business profiles, legal statuses of women-owned enterprises, energy use patterns (demand levels, types of energy carriers, access type), and energy expenditure. Notable findings to be extracted from the dataset can be summarised as follows: Female-owned businesses typically rely on one or two energy carriers, whereas female-male co-owned enterprises use multiple energy carriers. A variance in fuel use among different ownership structures is observed, with diesel, biomass, and liquefied petroleum gas being notable choices. Increasing ownership diversity correlates with greater awareness of energy metrics and higher monthly demand for electric and mechanical power. A similar trend - with some variance - is observed for thermal energy. Enterprises with diverse ownership structures tend to have lower energy expenditure per kilogram of production output (USD/kg/month). Some sole female-owned enterprises have energy expenditures exceeding 100 USD/kg/month, female-female partnerships may reach 100 USD/kg/month while female-male co-owned enterprises stay below 10 USD/kg/month. This research highlights the importance of understanding gendered productive energy practices and the need for gender mainstreaming in energy access and use interventions. It underscores the necessity for renewable energy solutions and capacity-building programs to address the efficiency and accessibility challenges women entrepreneurs face. Additionally, it recommends further research to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of energy use in women-owned enterprises.