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Drawing on social feminist theory, Indian cultural precepts, and previous research, we explore factors which may influence entrepreneurial fulfillment for women entrepreneurs in India. Results of a hierarchical regression analysis suggest that numerous network characteristics, as well as perceptions of family support, each contribute to a sense of entrepreneurial fulfillment for Indian women entrepreneurs. These factors furthermore each contributed to entrepreneurial fulfillment beyond the influence of the financial performance of the venture. Implications for understanding women entrepreneurs in emerging economies are discussed, as are practical implications for both women entrepreneurs and policy makers. We additionally present directions for future research.

This study explores gendered lending and marketing practices of start-up capital to women entrepreneurs in South Africa. A multi-method research design, comprising of 6 in-depth interviews with experts, and a survey of 50 women entrepreneurs was adopted using convenience and snowball sampling techniques, respectively. The findings revealed that women entrepreneurs are experiencing gendered discriminatory practices embedded in lending practices used by financial institutions, thereby discouraging them to venture into non-traditional industries. Whilst financial providers may know their products well, many emerging women entrepreneurs in South Africa may find it difficult and costly to obtain information on the thousands of financial products available. Hence, women entrepreneurs resort to taking greater risks than necessary in order to get their businesses off the ground. Educating women on financial matters is extremely important if South Africa is to benefit fully from the untapped entrepreneurial talent that women possess. The study adds voice to the discriminatory lending practices faced by women entrepreneurs in developing countries. Future research could explore the feasibility of establishing a financial institution which caters specifically for the needs of women.

The study explores the relationship between intrapersonal resources (formal schooling, formal entrepreneurial education and training, and informal entrepreneurial training and education) and success of micro and small enterprises (MSEs). Using Structural Equation Modeling, the study tested the mediating role of entrepreneurial competence in this relationship on a sample of 303 women drawn from the tourism and hospitality sector. The results reveal that entrepreneurial competence plays a mediating role in the relationship between intrapersonal resources and enterprise success. The results also show that informal entrepreneurial training is important in complementing formal entrepreneurial training and education towards enterprise success. It is also shown that formal schooling has a weak relationship with entrepreneurial competence but has varying relationships with both financial and non-financial success.

The involvement of female entrepreneurs in the growth of a nation’s economy is an important subject. Despite various opportunities as well as structural and policy financing and support to launch and run businesses, women still face challenges that hamper their chances of success. Therefore, a study was conducted to examine the individual factors and facilitating conditions that have led to female entrepreneurs’ career success. A survey instrument was formulated through questionnaires to obtain feedback from female entrepreneurs in Malaysia. The findings showed that entrepreneur competence, commitment, goal, and knowledge are related to female entrepreneurs’ career success. While human capital was found to be an insignificant factor in determining female entrepreneurs’ career success, the goal was discovered to be the most salient factor that determines a female entrepreneur’s chances of career success. The findings have important practical implications for managers and leaders who wish to motivate their employees to achieve their career milestones. This paper sheds some light on female entrepreneurship in developed economies and recommends further research on female entrepreneurship.

The number of small businesses owned by women in the United States is on the rise, due to a variety of reasons. One business model, which is attractive to mothers who lead busy lives, is multi-level marketing. The purpose of this study is to examine the motives of mompreneurs and gain a better understanding of their experiences with the multi-level marketing business model. Data collection involved both a survey and phenomenological interviews. The results identified a variety of motivations for engaging in multi-level marketing, ranging from economic to brand relationships. The women utilised social media tools to access their social capital in order to advertise and sell products to a large network of other women. Moreover, they received significant support from their family and friends related to their business. Several success factors and challenges were identified, as was a finding related to the serial nature of multi-level marketing business ownership. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Entrepreneurship has become a defining business trend in many countries throughout the world. The ranks of entrepreneurs contain a sizable contingent of women. As a result, research into the pathways of entrepreneurship as a general phenomenon as well as a career option for women has flourished in recent years. However, very little of this research has focused on women entrepreneurs in Arab countries, particularly those around the Gulf of Arabia, where private enterprise is viewed as a way for these nations to reduce their reliance on oil and their dependence on expatriate (foreign) workers. This study of the business start-up experiences of ten Arab women from Bahrain and Oman can serve as a starting point for such research. Although based on a non-representative sample, it suggests that the experiences of the Arab women entrepreneurs studied generally parallel those of their counterparts from other parts of the world with a few distinct differences. These differences relate to securing start-up capital and other resources, networking, and work/family balance. Infused with Arab and Islamic values, the unique cultural milieu played a major role in shaping the entrepreneurial experiences of the Bahraini and Omani business owners studied.

This study examines the demographic profile of "Tamil" women entrepreneurs in the North East of Sri Lanka who became entrepreneurs as a result of war. Five main areas of interest were examined, namely, (i) characteristics of these women; (ii) factors that spurred them into entrepreneurship; (iii) their challenges; (iv) their measures of success; and (v) their demographic profile. Findings indicate that a large percentage of these women were highly entrepreneurial who were motivated into business to achieve a higher standard of living, be self-reliant and support their families. Most of these women were married with children and, and because many had lost their husbands to the war, saw business as a means to an end. A large majority of these women were in business for the first time and rated their businesses as successful ventures. Their measures of success were self-fulfillment and a balance between family and work. The findings of this research are important because the women entrepreneurs of the North East are seen as a powerful driving force for the economic development of the country.

The Indonesian government has been trying to encourage entrepreneurship development by supporting the development of small and medium enterprises in the country, since these enterprises provide an avenue for the testing and development of entrepreneurial ability. This paper examines the current developments of SMEs in the country. The paper comes with a number of interesting facts. First, SMEs are of overwhelming importance in Indonesia, as they account for more than 90 percent of all firms outside the agricultural sector, and thus are the biggest source of employment. Second, the representation of women entrepreneurs is low. Third, women entrepreneurs are less educated than their men counterparts. Fourth, the main constraints faced by small entrepreneurs are lack of working capital and marketing difficulties. Finally, the majority of existing studies suggest that the effectiveness of government programs to support SME development programs is low. The paper concludes that in national efforts to develop high competitive entrepreneurships, owners of small enterprises should be given the first priority as they have some previous experience of running a business or of how to survive in competitive markets, and the emphasis should be to promote modernization, capacity building and size upgrading.

Differences between male and female entrepreneurs provide compelling reasons to study the latter separately. Especially in rural areas, research shows that women are a remarkable and unexplored source of the labor force. Nevertheless, few researchers have examined rural women and the issues pertaining to their entrepreneurship separately. The contribution of this study to the debate of women entrepreneurship is the closer examination of women in Greek rural areas. This research aims to examine factors that must be considered independently with recognition to the variances of rural areas with different geomorphologic and economic profiles. The characteristics of women entrepreneurship in Greek rural areas and the women's motives for the undertaking of the entrepreneurial activity are used to identify a typology of women entrepreneurs in the Greek countryside.

Access to financial resources remains an important aspect of new venture start-up and growth strategies. While women still obtain a small amount of total private equity investment, they are increasingly involved in developing high growth ventures which may be attractive investment opportunities for venture capitalists and business angels. Contract, or term sheet, negotiation is an important stage of the investment process. Although gender-related differences in negotiation styles are well documented in other fields, they have not been examined in entrepreneurship. This research utilizes a mixed method study of gender and negotiation strategies employed during the private equity investment process.

This study examines the role of e-entrepreneurship in fostering the future economy, with a specific focus on Saudi women entrepreneurs. The emergence of digital technologies and the internet has opened up new opportunities for entrepreneurship, especially for women facing traditional barriers to business participation. In particular, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has witnessed many women entrepreneurs who leverage e-commerce platforms to establish and grow their businesses. Combining e-entrepreneurship with environmental conscience depicts a future in which sustainable development and economic prosperity coexist. This research will explore the motivations, challenges, and strategies employed by Saudi women entrepreneurs in the e-commerce sector and analyse the impact of their entrepreneurial activities on the future economy. The study followed a quantitative and post-positivist approach. Data were collected cross-sectionally from the women working in different start-ups in the big cities of KSA. The study adopted the systematic random sampling approach to reach the respondents. A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed. However, 388 were included for analysis after the screening process. The findings reveal that e-entrepreneurial significantly impacts women’s entrepreneurial and economic growth. Moreover, Entrepreneurial self-efficiency significantly mediates the relationship between women’s entrepreneurial and economic growth. The findings comprehensively understand complex dynamics and guide future research and practical applications in related domains. Furthermore, the study found that Saudi women entrepreneurs should receive financial and technical support to initiate their ventures. Moreover, policy recommendations of the study demand addressing cultural barriers and fostering an enabling environment for their entrepreneurial endeavours.

Women own an estimated 10 percent of the micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Egypt. A nationally representative survey of some 5,000 MSEs in Egypt (2003/2004) shows that women entrepreneurs seem to start their businesses from a relatively modest base, having higher illiteracy rates, more limited educational backgrounds, and more limited training and experience than their male counterparts, and often more burdensome social responsibilities, along with modest financial and non-financial resources. Their modest beginnings affect the size of their enterprises, markets, economic activities, products, and performance. Women's enterprises are, on average, smaller and less efficient than men's; they are mostly in the trade sector; more likely to be informal; and more likely to use traditional production techniques. Those in rural areas face particular disadvantages and their productivity is particularly low.

Lebanon's institutional and legal framework for small enterprises is one of gender equality. Yet women's legal status is still considered inferior to that of men by Lebanon's religious personal status courts, and a lack of reform in personal status laws considerably affects women and, especially, women entrepreneurs. Women's economic participation tends to be limited, characterized by gendered career choices, limited technical skills, and early exit from the labor force at marriage. Enterprises led by women have developed less favorably than those led by men. A sample survey of nearly 3,000 micro and small enterprises (8 percent of them led by women) shows that those run by women are mostly crowded together in the trade sector, tend to be very small, experience tougher competition than men's businesses, and achieve profitability only two-thirds that of men's. Women make very little use of business support services and also have more difficulty with taxes and tax administration, and with customs duties. Recommendations are made to increase women's access to vital business skills and to create a more favorable environment for women-owned small- and medium-size enterprises.

The male-dominated social structure in Turkey constitutes a serious barrier to women's entrepreneurship. Gender discrimination experienced by women in the private as well as the public sphere significantly limits their visible participation in the economic life outside their homes. A sample survey of nearly 5,000 Turkish micro and small enterprises (MSEs), 6 percent of them led by women, shows that women's businesses tend to be very small. Nearly half are in trade and one-third are in industry. Many of the one-person women's enterprises are in home-based manufacturing. Women entrepreneurs tend to be younger and have more education than men entrepreneurs, and about half of the women entrepreneurs were employed as wage earners before starting their own businesses. Virtually none of them made use of credit for starting their businesses and very few had access to business support services of any kind. Recommendations are made for improving the environment for women's MSEs, including establishing a Women's Entrepreneurship Center.

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the desk-based professional world to a large extent. A significant portion of the desk-based professionals had to move to an in-house working environment due to the restrictions on mobility and face-to-face interactions in the past one and half years. Now, with the gradual re-opening of offices and other work-places, women employees are facing new challenges. Often seen juggling between their roles as primary caregivers in their respective families and as professionals in their offices/work fields, many women have left their corporate jobs and started freelancing and consulting. Some of them have become entrepreneurs with outfits of various scales. This chapter argues that entrepreneurship can be an alternative career opportunity for many women if they can attain the required skills and expertise in business and entrepreneurship. However, the field of business and entrepreneurship is not free of challenges for women. In this given context, the proposed chapter analyzes the emerging trend of entrepreneurship among women in South and Southeast Asia in the post COVID-19 time. There will be an attempt to understand the challenges and opportunities for women entrepreneurship in South and Southeast Asia. Based on secondary literature and some of the primary sources, this narrative will explore the scenario of women entrepreneurs in select Asian countries.

Entrepreneurs play a critical role in the socio-economic development of societies. Among these change agents, women entrepreneurs have drawn the attention of entrepreneurship scholars and policymakers recently. Nevertheless, there is a lack of attention to these entrepreneurs, especially in Arab countries. This chapter reviews the state of Algeria as an Arabic and Berber society. Therefore, after introducing the context, the chapter provides a historical overview of the country. Then, the authors review the main characteristics, motivations, and impacts of the Algerian female entrepreneurs. Afterwards, the gender-specific and constraints to women entrepreneurship in Algeria are discussed and finally, the chapter concludes with some future directions.

The notion of the ecosystem was coined by Roy Clapham in 1930 to denote physical and biological components in an environment and their relationship to each other. Today, entrepreneurial ecosystems are defined as the agglomeration of interrelated individuals, institutions, organizations, and regulatory entities in a particular geographic area that acts upon and promotes entrepreneurial initiatives and actions. Governments influence activities within these ecosystems.

Women entrepreneurs have become key drivers of entrepreneurial changes, especially in Middle Eastern countries where they have recently unleashed their distinguished power. Bahrain is not an exception. Even though women entrepreneurs in Bahrain struggle with a male-dominated culture, they have been successful in starting their own small businesses. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the context of doing business for women entrepreneurs. Then, this chapter reviews the historical aspects of Bahrain and then explores its entrepreneurial ecosystem. Finally, it provides some directions for the future of entrepreneurship in Bahrain.

The growing interest in studying and researching women’s entrepreneurship in Jordan is welcomed as the Kingdom continues to grapple with one of the lowest rates in the world for women’s entrepreneurship, and one of the highest rates for unemployment. To better understand the opportunities, challenges, and prospects for women entrepreneurs in Jordan, this chapter covers the past, present, and future of women entrepreneurs in Jordan. This is achieved by first presenting a contextual overview of Jordan and a historical overview of the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Kingdom. Secondly, a discussion of the current and maturing entrepreneurial ecosystem, and how it relates to women entrepreneurs operating in the Kingdom, is presented. Third, and finally, the chapter offers a set of potential prospects for the future of women entrepreneurs in Jordan. In doing so, the chapter highlights that the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Jordan began with a “gender neutral” approach assuming that men and women entrepreneurs shared the same barriers, challenges, and opportunities. However, as it developed, there was a growing awareness of the lack of engagement from women entrepreneurs, which led to an awareness of gendered barriers to women’s entrepreneurship and business growth. Strategies and remedies have been activated to address this, but this could be too little, too late.

Policymakers in most nations consider entrepreneurship to be a major driver of gross domestic product (GDP) growth as well as social development. In this context, women’s entrepreneurship is one of the fastest-growing fields of study that has drawn wide attention from both policymakers and academics. However, not all societies have equally emphasized the importance of developing and nurturing the participation of women in entrepreneurial ventures. For instance, in many Middle Eastern countries such as Oman, the presence of women as business owners is substantially underrepresented. Nevertheless, Oman has undertaken an ambitious plan under Oman Vision 2040, to diversify and transform the economy of the country through numerous initiatives. One such focus area is the growth of women’s entrepreneurship and their participation in the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Despite the significant rise in the number of women entering the job market, the participation of women in entrepreneurship in Oman is quite dismal. Therefore, this study aims to take a nuanced look at the existing condition of women entrepreneurs in Oman, and the underlying reasons for their insufficient participation in entrepreneurial ventures. The findings narrated in this chapter are based on secondary sources from reliable academic literature, as well as reports and research work published by international organizations such as the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, World Bank, United Nations, etc., and globally recognized consulting firms such as McKinsey and Company. The chapter identifies six major points that are being considered as factors that may impede the proliferation of entrepreneurial actions by women in Oman. Toward the end, the chapter presents an outlook for Omani women entrepreneurs in the age of digitalization.