Developing an Authentic Presence in Foreign Markets: Exploring Ghanaian Women Entrepreneurs’ Competitiveness and Challenges in Foreign Markets

This study explored the competitiveness of women entrepreneurs in foreign markets and applied the Resource-based View, the internationalisation and the decolonial theory to explore their challenges and setbacks. Their authentic entrepreneurial activities was scrutinised to lay bare the characteristics of foreign markets to meet the demands of their target destinations. The study adopted a qualitative research approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to-face with fourteen women entrepreneurs to allow open discussions at the firm level. Participants were selected from the directory of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority operating in the manufacturing, agricultural, and handicraft industries. Their experience in foreign business spans from ten to thirty years plus having two or more product destinations. Data was analysed using content analysis to develop themes and patterns of codes. Themes were presented with verbatim quotes to provide in-depth insights into their entrepreneurial marketing activities. Findings indicated foreign business initiation was associated with word of mouth, unavailability of markets, and potential in foreign markets. Living or working abroad was not associated with business success as many of them did not have international exposure before initiating exporting. Experiential knowledge acquired from training and experience enabled them to commit substantial resources to remain competitive. Product designs were based on the degree of cultural grounding and the level of change required by foreign buyers, as business satisfaction was contingent on hard work and resilience to remain competitive. The study contributes to gender studies in International Entrepreneurship from a developing country context by extending the debate on decolonisation of women entrepreneurship from an under-researched geographical context in Ghana and extending the literature to West African. Recommendations are directed to public policy makers to support women entrepreneurship development in the post-colonial era.