Towards strengthening the development of women entrepreneurship in Malaysia

The study was conducted on women entrepreneurship and socio-economic growth in Malaysia. The study on women entrepreneurship in Malaysia was on Women entrepreneurship is said to be the emerging phenomenon of the 21th Century. It has been recognised that today women are as likely as men seeking business opportunities around them. Women entrepreneurs are able to contribute to socioeconomic development of the country. However, women entrepreneurs were found to encounter internal and external barriers to their business growth. Based on the literature review on entrepreneurship highlighted numerous constraints and barriers to women entrepreneurship which include amongst others gender-biased, lack of entrepreneurial and business skills, finance and even the personality characteristics of women. In this study there were four factors and barriers facing entrepreneurship growth were identified. They were personality traits, business skills, knowledge and training, the need for government support system and support systems that contribute to women entrepreneurship growth and the socio-economic growth of the country. In order to answer these four objectives, this study conducted a focus group method in order to clearly understand the phenomenon of women entrepreneurship in Malaysia. It has been informed the focus group approach is commonly used in social science research. A selected group of 10 key person women entrepreneurs answered the interview and discussion via online focus group discussion. The structured questionnaires were also distributed to the 10 entrepreneurs participated and responded in focus group discussion. The focus group discussion centred on four themes on women entrepreneurship development, women and its contribution to socio-economic growth, including household income, employment and society wellbeing. Data collection on entrepreneurial psychological factors, barriers to women entrepreneurship success and growth, government support systems and the social and economic growth of the country were gathered from the focus group discussion and were analysed using NVIVO software package. The results of the study were tabulated based on four themes and sub themes. In conclusion this research has established a woman entrepreneurship socio-economic model in Malaysia. A causal relationship model configured variables as a main guidance for entrepreneurship stakeholders and practitioners. This study was a phenomenological study on woman entrepreneurship and its effect on women socio-economic growth in Malaysia. The study provided implications to stakeholders in addressing women entrepreneurship problems and barrier to women business growth. It was recommended that further research on women entrepreneurship will be based on industrial and business sectors dominated by women.

Factors Influencing the Development of Women Entrepreneurship in Bangladesh

Critical Factors for the Development of Women Entrepreneurship in Retail Business of Bangladesh

Socioeconomic Factors of Women Entrepreneurship Development in Bangladesh

Women participation in economic development has been identified to be of importance, most especially in the area of entrepreneurship. However, women the world over play a substantial role in the socio- economic and political development of any country. Given this, the current study examined the effect of socio-cultural factors on women entrepreneurship development in Kaduna state. The specific objectives of the study include: to examine the effect of religion on women entrepreneurship development in Kaduna State; to examine the effect of culture on women entrepreneurship development in Kaduna State; and to examine the effect of gender roles on women entrepreneurship development in Kaduna State. Using descriptive survey research design, data were collected from 332 women entrepreneurs in Kaduna metropolis and then analyzed via correlation and regression analyses techniques to examine the cause, effect, strength and degree of the relationship between socio-cultural factors and women entrepreneurship development. The study found that there is a significant relationship between socio-cultural factors and women entrepreneurship development in Kaduna metropolis, indicating significant relationships between religion and women entrepreneurship, between culture and women entrepreneurship and between gender role and women entrepreneurship development in Kaduna metropolis. The study recommends that women entrepreneurs in Kaduna metropolis should be proactive in doing business by bearing in mind various socio-cultural factors such as religion, culture and gender roles that may hinder the smooth running of their businesses.

This study investigates the role of microfinance services on women's entrepreneurship development in Assosa town. The study employed both descriptive and explanatory designs and a quantitative research approach. The study targeted 352 women clients of Assosa Woreda Microfinance Institution, and 165 samples were selected using a simple random sampling technique. The data were collected through a questionnaire and analyzed through the statistical package for social science (SPSS) 26 software. The findings from the descriptive mean analysis indicate that the microfinance institution financial and non-financial services offered were found unable to significantly empower disadvantaged and poor women by improving their livelihood and development of their business. The correlation result also indicated a positive and significant association between saving practice, access to credit, skill development training, and the development of women entrepreneurs. Finally, the regression result saving and the credit or loan services of the microfinance institution service have the most decisive influence on women's entrepreneurship development.

Policy Implications to Improve the Business Environment to Encourage Female Entrepreneurship in the North of Vietnam

Background and Purpose: Volume and sophistication of scientific research related to different aspects of entrepreneurship have significantly increased in recent years. Many authors point out the positive influence that development of micro, small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurship has on economic growth and job creation. According to various researchers, youth entrepreneurship and women entrepreneurship are two very important elements of this global phenomenon. The purpose of this paper is to provide the analysis of strategic framework for the support to the development of youth and women entrepreneurship in Serbia. Design/Methodology/Approach: Situational analysis of youth and women employment and examination of official Government strategic documents related to strategic framework for the support to the development of youth and women entrepreneurship in Serbia will be conducted. Results: Concrete activities have to be performed by different stakeholders, mostly non-government organizations. The activity stakeholders are on the bottom of the institutional framework, which provides the support to MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) sector that will execute the operations in accordance with the defined strategic framework. Conclusion: Youth-run enterprises provide numerous benefits for society; they reduce youth unemployment and help young people prepare for their future. Female entrepreneurs also have strong economic and social impact.

Needless to say that the women entrepreneurs of Bangladesh lack behind in economic advancement and decision making abilities compared to men business entrepreneurs. Research shows that only seven percent of the total business establishments are owned and headed by women which are negligible in number in a country where more than 170 million people live. One of the reasons of poor development of women entrepreneurship is limited decision making abilities of the women at different level of the society. Hence, this study aims at identifying the factors related to the development of women decision making abilities among the women business entrepreneurs. This is a causal research and this study used primary data collected from the women entrepreneurs of seven administrative divisional head-quarters of Bangladesh enlisted in Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI) database. The study used both probability and non-probability sampling techniques to select 395 women business entrepreneurs who are involved in SME businesses for interview. The data were analyzed by using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques. The results show that the factors concerning women business entrepreneurship activities such as, enterprise management, enterprise resourcing, generating business ideas, and harvesting and growth are significantly related to the development of women entrepreneurship in Bangladesh. And the development of entrepreneurship helps developing decision making abilities of the women entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurial factors that help to improve the abilities of decision making of the women entrepreneurs are concerned with cognitive, affective and psychomotor factors. This study suggests that the policy makers of this sector should emphasize the enhancement of the decision making abilities of the women in formulating the SME policy for the sustainable economic development of Bangladesh.

This chapter gives an overview of women entrepreneurship in Montenegro. The chapter starts with offering a historical summary of a woman’s role in Montenegro, which serves as the basis for further analysis of the development of women entrepreneurship. It further analyzes demographic indicators, as well asobstacles and challenges which are relevant for the development of women entrepreneurship. The analysis shows that women entrepreneurship is a concept that is more used in Montenegrin economic theory, but it is hardly present in everyday life. Besides, there are no precise details on participation of women entrepreneurship in economy. A significant segment of the chapter is analysis of business environment and institutional support in the function of development of women entrepreneurship, with a special overview of the role of the strategy of the development of women entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial activity brings employment, economic growth, and wealth and represents an essential component of the advanced economy. On the other hand, it is a fact that the participation of women in creating politics in Montenegro is insufficient, i.e., a relatively small number of women are present in the leading positions and positions for decision-making. The chapter finishes with offering recommendations and guidelines for future development of women entrepreneurship in Montenegro. In that sense, a key element for increasing women entrepreneurial activity is multiple support to greater number of women to get involved in the business. Women entrepreneurship in economically less developed countries helps women to avoid the trap of poverty. Additionally, women entrepreneurship breaks entrepreneurial stereotypes which are rooted in society for a long time.

The position of women in Serbia on the labor market is very unfavorable, so they represent a traditionally discriminated social group. One way to improve the position of women in society in Serbia is to encourage self-employment and the development of women entrepreneurship. Many measures have been implemented in order to develop women entrepreneurship in Serbia. This has led to the development of women entrepreneurship in Serbia, but it is developing very slowly, due to the influence of several factors. The subject of this chapter was to explain the genesis of the development of women entrepreneurship in Serbia and to analyze the limiting and incentive influencing factors of the development of women entrepreneurship in Serbia. Our research has shown that motives that have a significant impact on women in Serbia to start their own business are the need for higher earnings, necessity (unemployment), need for independence in work and autonomy, childcare, and need to provide a better future for the children. The key restrictions on women entrepreneurship in Serbia are lack of one’s own capital, lack of managerial knowledge and experience, lack of knowledge of the nature of business, childcare, and responsibilities in the home and the family.

Women entrepreneurship is a rapidly growing phenomenon in many developing countries including Bangladesh. This paper reviewed the literature on women entrepreneurship development in Bangladesh with specific focus on government and financial intermediaries supports. The article also identified major challenges that obstruct smooth development of women entrepreneurs. Women involved in various micro, small and medium enterprises take on the challenge to work in a male-dominated society, competitive and complex economic and business environment with the government policy supports and financial institutions participation. They improved their living conditions and earned more respect in the family and the society. However, the challenges that were identified includes lack of access to credit, limited access to market information, infrastructure and utility services, traditional technology, bureaucratic complexity and so on. This article provides some useful academic insights and offers some practical suggestions toward improving government policy supports for developing women entrepreneurs. Key words: Women entrepreneurship, micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME), development, Bangladesh.

Entrepreneurship is seen as an important tool in the prevention of women's unemployment and in the fight against poverty in underdeveloped and developing countries. Entrepreneurship becomes particularly obligatory for many women to substitute a kind of employment to provide additional income to the family. Drawing on Bowen and Hisrich's a career perspective to women's entrepreneurship and the context of a successful entrepreneurial career of a woman in Turkey, this chapter aims to discuss women's entrepreneurship by focusing on the reasons as to why women might choose entrepreneurship as a career choice. Another contribution is to provide a platform aimed at encouraging the mindset for the development of women's employment and entrepreneurship. In this context, the chapter provides explanations for the reasons for women's entrepreneurship within the push and pull factors. Furthermore, the main demographics of women entrepreneurs, their general personality characteristics, the sectors they operate in, and the difficulties they face are discussed.

Women's development is the major concern of the country at present. The government of Bangladesh has been trying to do this job by undertaking various programs and activities. Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development has also been involved in developing the model for women's entrepreneurship development. BARD had started the program of women's development in 1959 and still, it has been going on in implementing this program. The general objective of the study was to analyze and review critically the role of BARD in women's entrepreneurship development in the country. The study indicated that the action research projects of BARD of the 1960s and 1970s were more congenial to develop women entrepreneurs as compared to current ongoing action researches.

The report presents an up-to-date picture of the situation of women entrepreneurs in Tanzania and assesses the current environment supporting Women's Entrepreneurship Development through a set of six framework conditions which are having (i) a gender-sensitive legal and regulatory system, (ii) an effective policy leadership and coordination for the promotion of WED, (iii) access to gender-sensitive financial services, (iv) access to gender-sensitive BDS services, (v) access to markets and technology and (vi) representation of women entrepreneurs and participation in policy dialogue. To undertake the study, researchers carried out thorough desk reviews, various in-depth interviews with key stakeholders as well as surveys with 200 women entrepreneurs and focus group discussions in 2012-2013.