Women entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa: An institutional theory analysis from a social marketing point of view

Abstract

This paper takes an international marketing (IM) approach to the study of women entrepreneurs (WEs) in sub-Saharan Africa by examining factors in the environments in which WEs operate. The goal is to understand better how environmental barriers of many types impact the efforts of WEs. Using institutional theory-driven analysis, findings from a wide range of literature are integrated, with special attention to issues of the social legitimacy of women as entrepreneurs. Results of this study demonstrate that WEs in sub-Saharan Africa face a daunting array of challenges arising from the socio-cultural, economic, legal, political, and technological environments in which they live. Moreover, unfavourable conditions in local regulatory, normative, and cognitive systems place additional burdens on women who desire to become entrepreneurs or to expand an entrepreneurial business. In order to address these gender-specific problems, social marketing is recommended with the goals of (1) changing social beliefs, attitudes and behaviours that negatively affect Wes, and (2) improving conditions in institutional systems and market environments. Recommendations in the paper suggest how to bring about changes in attitudes towards women, work and their independent enterprise. In conclusion, directions for future scholarly research are identified.

Keywords:

• women entrepreneurs
• sub-Saharan Africa
• market environment
• institutional theory
• social marketing

Notes

Note

1. While it is theoretically desirable to exclude South Africa from analysis for the reasons given, in several instances in this study it proved impossible to disaggregate this country from statistics that we obtained from publications by international organizations. Excluding South Africa the ‘sub-Saharan region’ consists of 47 countries. These are Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Rwanda (in Central Africa); Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda (in East Africa); Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe (in Southern Africa), Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Săo Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo (in West Africa).