Socio-economic factors and personality traits influencing the sustainability of female agri-entrepreneurs in emerging economies

Entrepreneurship is the future, particularly for developing economies that are still striving to meet societal needs with the bare minimum of resources. With the urgency of entrepreneurship in South Africa, the study sought to investigate the influence of socioeconomic characteristics and personality traits on the sustainability of women agripreneurs. The study was conducted in the Mopani district of Limpopo province, South Africa. Structured questionnaires were administered to 119 women agripreneurs during face-to-face interviews. Descriptive statistics were used to gain insight into the distribution of socioeconomic characteristics among women agripreneurs. At the same time, a multinomial logistic regression model was used to determine the influence of socioeconomic characteristics and personality traits on the sustainability of female entrepreneurship. The study discovered that the sustainability of women agripreneurs during their start-up phase was significantly influenced by their hard work and resilience traits. At the same time, their traits of innovativeness and independence positively influenced their short-term sustainability. The long-term sustainability of the women agripreneurs was primarily influenced by their willingness to learn, household size, problem-solving, and can-do attitude. The study recommends that potential women agripreneurs be assisted in developing personality traits that enhance their sustainability during different phases of their businesses. The study findings imply the importance of considering the socioeconomic status and personality traits of potential agripreneurs when developing mechanisms to enhance their agribusiness sustainability.