IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jobuve/v5y2016icp1-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Gender and constraints to entrepreneurship in Africa: New evidence from Swaziland

Author

Listed:
  • Brixiová, Zuzana
  • Kangoye, Thierry

Abstract

This paper contributes to closing a knowledge gap on gender, entrepreneurship and development by linking the entrepreneurial productivity to start-up capital and skills. The empirical analysis of a survey of entrepreneurs in Swaziland confirmed the importance of start-up capital for sales. Women entrepreneurs have smaller start-up capital and are less likely to fund it from the formal sector than their men counterparts, pointing to a possible room for policy interventions. Further, business training is positively associated with sales performance of men entrepreneurs, but has no effect on women. However, this does not call for abolishing training programs for women entrepreneurs. Instead their design and targeting should be revisited.

Suggested Citation

  • Brixiová, Zuzana & Kangoye, Thierry, 2016. "Gender and constraints to entrepreneurship in Africa: New evidence from Swaziland," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 5(C), pages 1-8.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jobuve:v:5:y:2016:i:c:p:1-8
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbvi.2015.10.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352673415300068
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbvi.2015.10.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gine, Xavier & Mansuri, Ghazala, 2014. "Money or ideas ? a field experiment on constraints to entrepreneurship in rural Pakistan," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6959, The World Bank.
    2. Robert W. Fairlie & Dean Karlan & Jonathan Zinman, 2015. "Behind the GATE Experiment: Evidence on Effects of and Rationales for Subsidized Entrepreneurship Training," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 7(2), pages 125-161, May.
    3. Zoltan J. Acs & Attila Varga, 2008. "Entrepreneurship, Agglomeration and Technological Change," Chapters, in: Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, chapter 24, pages 341-352, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Aterido, Reyes & Beck, Thorsten & Iacovone, Leonardo, 2013. "Access to Finance in Sub-Saharan Africa: Is There a Gender Gap?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 102-120.
    5. Justo, Rachida & DeTienne, Dawn R. & Sieger, Philipp, 2015. "Failure or voluntary exit? Reassessing the female underperformance hypothesis," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 775-792.
    6. Brixiová, Zuzana & Ncube, Mthuli & Bicaba, Zorobabel, 2015. "Skills and Youth Entrepreneurship in Africa: Analysis with Evidence from Swaziland," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 11-26.
    7. Sabarwal, Shwetlena & Terrell, Katherine, 2008. "Does Gender Matter for Firm Performance? Evidence from Eastern Europe and Central Asia," IZA Discussion Papers 3758, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Baumol, William J., 1996. "Entrepreneurship: Productive, unproductive, and destructive," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 3-22, January.
    9. Verheul, Ingrid & Thurik, Roy, 2001. "Start-Up Capital: "Does Gender Matter?"," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 329-345, June.
    10. Naudé, Wim, 2010. "Promoting Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries: Policy Challenges," WIDER Working Papers UNU-WIDER Working Paper P, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    11. Elizabeth Asiedu & Isaac Kalonda-Kanyama & Leonce Ndikumana & Akwasi Nti-Addae, 2013. "Access to Credit by Firms in Sub-Saharan Africa: How Relevant Is Gender?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(3), pages 293-297, May.
    12. Mohammad Amin, 2010. "Gender and firm-size: Evidence from Africa," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 30(1), pages 663-668.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yang, Xiaolan & Huang, Yidong & Gao, Mei, 2022. "Can digital financial inclusion promote female entrepreneurship? Evidence and mechanisms," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    2. Brixiová, Zuzana & Kangoye, Thierry & Said, Mona, 2020. "Training, human capital, and gender gaps in entrepreneurial performance," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 367-380.
    3. El Houssain Bouichou & Tahirou Abdoulaye & Khalil Allali & Abdelghani Bouayad & Aziz Fadlaoui, 2021. "Entrepreneurial Intention among Rural Youth in Moroccan Agricultural Cooperatives: The Future of Rural Entrepreneurship," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-20, August.
    4. Brixiova, Zuzana & Kangoye, Thierry, 2016. "Start-Up Capital and Women's Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Swaziland," IZA Discussion Papers 10279, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Zuzana Brixiová & Thierry Kangoye & Fiona Tregenna, 2020. "Enterprising Women in Southern Africa: When Does Land Ownership Matter?," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 37-51, March.
    6. Emmanuel Adu Boahen & Paul Adjei Kwakwa & Justice Boateng Dankwah, 2022. "Does gender make a difference in the performance of a small business enterprise? Evidence from a household survey data from Ghana," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(9), pages 1-26, September.
    7. Zuzana Brixiová & Thierry Kangoye, 2019. "Networks, start-up capital and women's entrepreneurial performance in Africa: Evidence from Eswatini," SALDRU Working Papers 257, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    8. Hundera, Mulu, 2019. "Role conflict, coping strategies and female entrepreneurial success in sub-Saharan Africa," Other publications TiSEM 3e263b0c-3bf3-474a-8a20-b, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    9. Ojong, Nathanael & Simba, Amon & Dana, Leo-Paul, 2021. "Female entrepreneurship in Africa: A review, trends, and future research directions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 233-248.
    10. Brixiova, Zuzana & Kangoye, Thierry, 2016. "Gender Disparities in Employment and Earnings in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Swaziland," IZA Discussion Papers 10455, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad & Yoshino, Naoyuki & Fukuda, Lisa, 2019. "Gender and Corporate Success: An Empirical Analysis of Gender-Based Corporate Performance on a Sample of Asian Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises," ADBI Working Papers 937, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    12. Jafari-Sadeghi, Vahid, 2020. "The motivational factors of business venturing: Opportunity versus necessity? A gendered perspective on European countries," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 279-289.
    13. Amar Johri & Mohammad Asif & Preeti Tarkar & Waseem Khan & Rahisha & Mohammad Wasiq, 2024. "Digital financial inclusion in micro enterprises: understanding the determinants and impact on ease of doing business from World Bank survey," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-10, December.
    14. Svetlana Martynova & Polina Sazonova, 2018. "Women's Entrepreneurship in the Innovative Regions of Russia in the Mirror of Qualitative Sociological Research," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(4), pages 843-858.
    15. Madhubalan Viswanathan & Saravana Jaikumar & Arun Sreekumar & Shantanu Dutta, 2021. "Marketplace literacy education and coping behaviors among subsistence consumer–entrepreneurs during demonetization in India," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(1), pages 179-202, March.
    16. Paola Demartini, 2018. "Innovative Female-Led Startups. Do Women in Business Underperform?," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-15, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Brixiova, Zuzana & Kangoye, Thierry, 2016. "Start-Up Capital and Women's Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Swaziland," IZA Discussion Papers 10279, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Zuzana Brixiová & Thierry Kangoye, 2019. "Networks, start-up capital and women's entrepreneurial performance in Africa: Evidence from Eswatini," SALDRU Working Papers 257, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    3. Brixiová, Zuzana & Kangoye, Thierry & Said, Mona, 2020. "Training, human capital, and gender gaps in entrepreneurial performance," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 367-380.
    4. Zuzana Brixiová & Thierry Kangoye & Fiona Tregenna, 2020. "Enterprising Women in Southern Africa: When Does Land Ownership Matter?," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 37-51, March.
    5. Pham, Tho & Talavera, Oleksandr, 2018. "Discrimination, Social Capital, and Financial Constraints: The Case of Viet Nam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 228-242.
    6. Ferdinando Giglio, 2020. "Access to Credit and Women Entrepreneurs: A Systematic Literature Review," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(4), pages 312-335.
    7. Tran, Viet T. & Nguyen, Trung Thanh & Tran, Nguyet T.M., 2019. "Gender difference in access to local finance and firm performance: Evidence from a panel survey in Vietnam," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 150-164.
    8. Golda Anambane & Kwame Adom, 2018. "Assessing The Role Of Culture In Female Entrepreneurship In Contemporary Sub-Saharan Society: Insights From The Nabadam District Of Ghana," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(03), pages 1-26, September.
    9. Kausik Chaudhuri & Subash Sasidharan & Rajesh Seethamma Natarajan Raj, 2020. "Gender, small firm ownership, and credit access: some insights from India," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(4), pages 1165-1181, April.
    10. Claudia Piras & Andrea Filippo Presbitero & Roberta Rabellotti, 2013. "Definitions Matter: Measuring Gender Gaps in Firms' Access to Credit," Mo.Fi.R. Working Papers 90, Money and Finance Research group (Mo.Fi.R.) - Univ. Politecnica Marche - Dept. Economic and Social Sciences.
    11. Brixiova, Zuzana & Kangoye, Thierry, 2016. "Gender Disparities in Employment and Earnings in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Swaziland," IZA Discussion Papers 10455, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Adu-Gyamfi, Richard & Kuada, John & Asongu, Simplice, 2018. "An Integrative Framework for Entrepreneurship Research in Africa," MPRA Paper 89133, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Raquel Ortega-Argilés, 2022. "The evolution of regional entrepreneurship policies: “no one size fits all”," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 69(3), pages 585-610, December.
    14. Shusen Qi & Steven Ongena & Hua Cheng, 2022. "Working with women, do men get all the credit?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(4), pages 1427-1447, December.
    15. Dileni Gunewardena & Abdoulaye Seck, 2020. "Heterogeneity in entrepreneurship in developing countries: Risk, credit, and migration and the entrepreneurial propensity of youth and women," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 713-725, August.
    16. Andrew Burke & Serhiy Lyalkov & Ana Millán & José María Millán & André Stel, 2021. "How do country R&D change the allocation of self-employment across different types?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 695-721, February.
    17. Brixiová, Zuzana & Ncube, Mthuli & Bicaba, Zorobabel, 2015. "Skills and Youth Entrepreneurship in Africa: Analysis with Evidence from Swaziland," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 11-26.
    18. Belso Martínez, J.A., 2004. "Una aproximación inicial al papel del mercado de trabajo, la inmigración y la conflictividad socio-laboral como factores explicativos de la creación de empresas./An Initial Approach to the Role of Lab," Estudios de Economia Aplicada, Estudios de Economia Aplicada, vol. 22, pages 67-82, Abril.
    19. Chen, Xiao & Huang, Bihong & Ye, Dezhu, 2019. "The Gender Gap in Peer-to-Peer Lending: Evidence from the People’s Republic of China," ADBI Working Papers 977, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    20. Nardo Vries & Werner Liebregts & André Stel, 2020. "Explaining entrepreneurial performance of solo self-employed from a motivational perspective," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 447-460, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender and entrepreneurship; Start-up capital; Skills; Training; Multivariate analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L53 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Enterprise Policy
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jobuve:v:5:y:2016:i:c:p:1-8. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-business-venturing-insights .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.