Social, Human and Financial Capital and Women’s Entrepreneurship in Iran

Abstract

Women’s entrepreneurship cannot be studied in purely economic terms; the interaction of different factors such as demographic characteristics, business environment, and institutions shape the conditions for women’s entrepreneurial activity. The extent to which women can contribute to the socio-economic development depends on women’s access to resources and the roles that are defined for women by formal and informal institutions. This chapter discusses the importance and availability of social capital, financial capital and human capital for women in Iran. First, different dimensions of social capital are reviewed and the effect of social capital on women’s entrepreneurship in Iran in terms of the structural, relational and cognitive dimensions is investigated. Then the demand for financial capital and also the supply side of business financing in Iran is studied in detail. Venture capital financing as a new source of financing in the country is considered and discussed as well. In order to develop a better understanding of human capital in Iran, the first and second editions of the World Economic Forum’s human capital index are used to measure the performance of Iran in social capital and also to show where Iran stands in human capital compared to some countries in Asia and the Pacific region.