Ugandan women’s approaches to doing business and becoming entrepreneurs

Abstract

Uganda ranks first in female entrepreneurship in Africa, and Kampala is one of the country’s most important urban/commercial hubs. The markets of Kalerwe, Mulagoo-Nsooba, Nakasero, Ntinda and Seguku constitute the research setting. Important trading centres, these markets are also relevant social spaces for locals to interact with each other. This research addresses Ugandan women’s approaches to doing business and being entrepreneurs, offering a typology: business owner, survival entrepreneur, opportunity entrepreneur and transitional entrepreneur. Based on a qualitative methodology, 16 female entrepreneurs were interviewed during fieldwork (2019–2021). Data were collected through open-ended interviews, and a thematic analysis followed. By addressing female businesses from a postcolonial African perspective, the connections between culture and entrepreneurship are made explicit in understanding women’s entrepreneurship, thus filling a gap in the existing literature which has mostly focussed on the informal/popular economies (as safe haven for victims of neoliberalism) or the African economic creativity (as panacea for development). Whether driven by necessity or opportunity, the results show that Ugandan women’s entrepreneurial initiatives are grounded in cultural and social values that overcome the structural constraints they face.