Entrepreneurial ecosystems created by woman entrepreneurs in Botswana

Anastacia Mamabolo,Reitumetse Lekoko

doi:10.4102/sajbm.v52i1.2228

Anastacia Mamabolo, Reitumetse Lekoko

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4102/sajbm.v52i1.2228

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Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore how woman entrepreneurs in a developing country context such as Botswana create their own entrepreneurial ecosystems that support their business-venturing activities. Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative research collected data via in-depth interviews from a purposive sample of 11 women who owned established enterprises in Gaborone, Botswana. Findings/results: Firstly, woman entrepreneurs in Botswana displayed entrepreneurial behaviours, skills and characteristics, an ability to overcome marginalisation and a positive attitude towards failure. Secondly, the entrepreneurial ecosystems created by women included social capital ties, human capital development, alternative funding mechanisms, access to local and international markets and inclusion of digital technology as part of the ecosystem. The woman entrepreneurs were influenced by the entrepreneurial institutional conditions in Botswana. Lastly, the findings showed the significance of changes to each component of the entrepreneurial ecosystem across the stages of the entrepreneurial journey. Practical implications: In a context of limited entrepreneurial resources, woman entrepreneurs should build their own ecosystem by leveraging the existing social networks and collaborating with local and international stakeholders. Government should design tailor-made entrepreneurial programmes and foster public and private partnerships to support the advancement of woman entrepreneurs. Lastly, ecosystem players including private institutions should collaborate to support women-owned entrepreneurial ventures. Originality/value: This study adopted an alternative view that woman entrepreneurs can be the key drivers of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. This system must be built up from the level of the women entrepreneurs to better understand their specific stance and also the context in which they operate.

Highlights

The prevalence of entrepreneurship is increasing amongst women in sub-Saharan Africa and is contributing to innovation and the creation of jobs, thereby improving the livelihood of families and communities (Adom & Asare-Yeboa, 2016; Lock & Smith, 2015)
Research in sub-Saharan African regions shows that, in most countries, the entrepreneurial activities of woman entrepreneurs are limited by the institutional factors or framework conditions, such as scarce resources, political governance, limited access to finance and inadequate business development training, which inhibit their success (Atiase, Mahmood, Wang, & Botchie, 2018; Kairiza, Kiprono, & Magadzire, 2017; Lock & Smith, 2015)
The findings show that woman entrepreneurs who possess entrepreneurial behaviours are able to overcome marginalisation and embrace entrepreneurial failure, building their own ecosystems

Summary

Introduction

The prevalence of entrepreneurship is increasing amongst women in sub-Saharan Africa and is contributing to innovation and the creation of jobs, thereby improving the livelihood of families and communities (Adom & Asare-Yeboa, 2016; Lock & Smith, 2015). The concept of an entrepreneurial ecosystem (Alvedalen & Boschma, 2017; Audretsch, Cunningham, Kuratko, Lehmann, & Menter, 2019) was based on the notion of interactions between multiple interdependent actors and factors. These included government, financial institutions, higher education, support services, talent and a culture that supports the development of a new venture (Hechavarría & Ingram, 2019; Stam, 2015). In less industrialised countries, including Botswana, most of the http://www.sajbm.org

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