Save women entrepreneurs: gender, cultural context, and micro-commerce performance in Togo

This study analyses gender differences in micro-commerce performance in Togo. Once a haven primarily occupied by women, the micro-commerce industry is now flooded with men. Because women are already underrepresented in other sectors of the economy, the influx of men into micro-commerce may gradually exclude women from economic activities, particularly if men outperform women in this industry. Using a sample of 13,488 micro-commerce businesses from the latest General Census of Enterprises (RGE, 2017–2018), we find that female-led micro-commerce businesses underperform compared to male-led micro-commerce businesses in Togo, but women perform better as employees. This result is obtained from an instrumental variables (IV) estimation strategy and is robust to supplementary tests, including adding more controls, implementing falsification tests, and using impact evaluation estimation methods. A deeper examination of this relationship illustrates that the gender bias in micro-commerce performance in Togo is mainly observed among regions with low education rates, low employment rates for women, a prevalence of polygamous unions, and a high rate of violence against women. Cultural context, therefore, influences the gender gap in micro-commerce performance in Togo.