An alternative reason is that African women entrepreneurs generally rely on smaller business networks and might have greater difficulty in dealing with bank officials. One indication of the networking disadvantage women face as entrepreneurs is the fact that only 2.5% of African female-owned firms have suppliers who offer them credit or customers who pay advances (versus 5.2% of men-owned firms). Data on micro-enterprises (less than 15 employees) in Brazil, Mexico and South Africa show that the great majority of business owners did not use loans to start up, but relied entirely on their own funds and on support from family and friends (Figure 27.3, Panel A).