Abstract
Purpose This study aims to develop and test a framework for studying the failure of new women entrepreneurs in the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector. Design/methodology/approach Using a sample of 114 unsuccessful entrepreneurs in Kigali, Rwanda, this study aimed to identify key failure factors of women-owned SMEs. This study used mixed methods where quantitative data were analysed using the principal component approach with Varimax rotation to reduce the variables to only three clusters. Findings The study findings revealed that the failure of women-owned SMEs results from the entrepreneur’s inability followed by the enterprise incompetence, which are both internally controllable factors and the inauspicious business environment. These findings contribute to the validity of the dynamic capability theory by explaining how well internal and external factors must stay glued together to avoid failure among women-owned SMEs, something that was not yet previously well documented so far. Originality/value New SMEs are considered a noteworthy constituent of Rwandan development. Unfortunately, most new SMEs, in general, do not grow; their failure rate is high (70%), which raised many worries for both researchers and policymakers as to why this occurs at this stage of business growth. Therefore, to the best of the authors’ knowledge this paper is the first to analyse the reasons for the failure of Rwandan women-owned SMEs in the service sector. These findings are important because they suggest that policies designed to reduce the incidence of SMEs’ failure should take account of the two main factors influencing failure among women entrepreneurs.
Highlights
Several decades before, the African woman was considered as a nurturer and only attached to household activities
The findings revealed that a firm could fail because of enterprise incompetence, or yet management deficiency such as lack of finance, inadequate economic environment and insufficient government policies were mentioned as main causes of business failure
4.1 Principal component analysis To ensure the use of principal component analysis (PCA), certain assumptions must be met, such as the sample size, the normality of data, data outliers and missing values
Summary
The African woman was considered as a nurturer and only attached to household activities. In the face of socioeconomic challenges, women are increasingly freeing themselves from this grip and are in politics and others in the business. In the context of Rwanda, where women are increasingly performing well in different leadership positions, especially in politics and in public administration, one may wonder if the same goes for women in business. Published in Vilakshan - XIMB Journal of Management. The full terms of this licence maybe seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/ legalcode
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
