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

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  • 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.

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  • 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
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    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. Brixiova Schwidrowski, 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).
    3. Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary & Naoyuki Yoshino & Lisa Fukuda, 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.
    4. 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.
    5. Zuzana Brixiová & Thierry Kangoye & Fiona Tregenna, 2020. "Correction to: Enterprising Women in Southern Africa: When Does Land Ownership Matter?," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 762-762, December.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. Brixiova Schwidrowski, Zuzana & Kangoye, Thierry, 2016. "Start-Up Capital and Women's Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Swaziland," IZA Discussion Papers 10279, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. 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.
    10. 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.
    11. 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.
    12. World Bank Group, 2022. "Fostering Rwanda Competitiveness and Resilience in the Post-COVID-19 Era," World Bank Publications - Reports 38321, The World Bank Group.
    13. Nothando Tshuma & Vuyisile Ndebele & Tsepeso Setoboli & Emmanuel Sibanda, 2025. "An Analysis of the Impact of Survival Entrepreneurship on Economic Development: A Case Study of the Informal Sector in Zimbabwe," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(15), pages 405-414, April.
    14. 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.
    15. 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.
    16. 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.
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    18. 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.

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    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

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