Examining the Role of Women Entrepreneurs in Emerging Economies by David Chitakunye Amandeep Takhar

Author:David Chitakunye,Amandeep Takhar
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: IGI Global

In 2013, women entrepreneurs owned all their businesses in South Africa (Businesswomen’s Association of South, 2013). In most cases, most women involved in total entrepreneurial activities (TEA) are driven by need as compared to their male counterparts who are driven by opportunities. The 2017 GEM data shows that, between 2013 and 2016, the percentage of the females involved in TEA who claim to be driven by opportunity, as opposed to finding no other option for work, was always high, except for 2014 when there was a balance. The same applies to those who indicated that the main driver to being involved in this opportunity was to be independent or to increase their income, rather than just to maintain their income, divided by the equivalent percentage for their male counterparts. Although GEM data indicates that, a typical South African entrepreneur is male and between the ages of 25 and 44, the number of women entrepreneurs is growing.

GEM’s (2017) data suggests that, in most cases, women entrepreneurs are need-driven, unlike their male counterparts who are opportunity-driven. In other words, most women entrepreneurs are ‘pushed’ into entrepreneurship. The Gordon Institute of Business Science (2017) seems to confirm this observation by pointing out that most female entrepreneurs in South Africa seem to be lifestyle-focused and not high-impact entrepreneurs due to multiple commitments to balance in their lives. This view is consistent with the normative-institutionalism perspective in that it sees barriers to women’s entrance into entrepreneurship as emanating from the cultural practices. Consequently, the 2016 ration of South Africa’s men: women entrepreneurs was 1,6:1 as opposed to 1:1 for countries like Peru and Chile (Businesswomen’s Association of South, 2013).

The percentage of females between the age of 18 and 64 who are either a nascent entrepreneur or owner-manager of a new business divided by the equivalent percentage for their male counterparts since 2002 in South Africa shows that there have been more males than females. A comprehensive analysis of GEM’s (2017) data gives a graphical presentation of the percentage of female nascent entrepreneurs in TEA divided by their male counterparts.

Although the percentage of the female (aged 18-64) population in South Africa, who are either a nascent entrepreneur or owner-manager of a new business, has been fluctuating, it has been in favour of male entrepreneurs (GEM, 2017). This is barely distinguishable from the other countries like, for example, Australia. What is intriguing about the South African trend is the fluctuation illustrated in the graph. The factors responsible for such fluctuations are not well understood. One might see this as a direct response to the macroeconomic environment, but it is also not clear why it affects female entrepreneurs differently. What is perfectly clear from GEM’s (2017) data is that endogenous psychological narratives that argue that women are naturally less entrepreneurial than their male counterparts are flawed. South African female entrepreneurs seem to have been responding to some contextual factors. The question is then: what are these factors?

Regulative Context

South Africa has a sound policy and legislation that seeks to promote entrepreneurship, not just for women, but also for the previously disadvantaged people.

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