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Making do by doing without: bricolage in the funding sources of female entrepreneurs in resource-constrained environments

Making do by doing without: bricolage in the funding sources of female entrepreneurs in resource-constrained environments
Making do by doing without: bricolage in the funding sources of female entrepreneurs in resource-constrained environments
Female entrepreneurship is increasingly playing phenomenal roles in the economic growth of many countries. Several businesses employing many people and producing a lot of revenues are created and run by women. Many governments and international bodies are promoting female entrepreneurship fervently especially in developing economies. However, the difficulty that women in resource-constrained economies face in accessing funding to start and grow their businesses makes going into entrepreneurship a wishful dream, thus pointing to low numbers of female ventures in developing countries. However, the phenomenal numbers of female entrepreneurs in certain developing regions such as West Africa present an intriguing situation. This study therefore sought to investigate the funding sources of female entrepreneurs in developing economies and how those sources are combined in funding businesses. Qualitative methods were employed for the study, collecting data through interviews and non-participant observations in two resource-constrained countries of West Africa—Ghana and Ivory Coast. We discovered that women entrepreneurs combined various resources from different sources to start and run businesses. These sources are made possible through their social capital. Prominent sources of funding are gifts/grants from friends, families, and well-wishers; personal savings; and interest-free loans. Few women accessed commercial loans but not until they have grown their businesses up to a certain stage. The study contributes to the social capital and entrepreneurial bricolage theories by extending them to entrepreneurial financing and female entrepreneurship in developing economies. It also adds to the studies questioning the well-publicized salvific role of microfinance in developing countries especially among the poor and vulnerable.
2228-7566
Atarah, Bede Akorige
1757905c-ac76-4b0b-87aa-397f3d944084
Peprah, Augustine Awuah
bae898c9-95d3-4010-966a-f06785f645fb
Amartey, Abednego F. Okoe
9bab3c0e-170b-4db7-aacd-698b4947750c
Bamfo, Bylon Abeeku
9a5b07ca-dda8-4d0b-97d3-8cd2ee7298cf
Atarah, Bede Akorige
1757905c-ac76-4b0b-87aa-397f3d944084
Peprah, Augustine Awuah
bae898c9-95d3-4010-966a-f06785f645fb
Amartey, Abednego F. Okoe
9bab3c0e-170b-4db7-aacd-698b4947750c
Bamfo, Bylon Abeeku
9a5b07ca-dda8-4d0b-97d3-8cd2ee7298cf

Atarah, Bede Akorige, Peprah, Augustine Awuah, Amartey, Abednego F. Okoe and Bamfo, Bylon Abeeku (2021) Making do by doing without: bricolage in the funding sources of female entrepreneurs in resource-constrained environments. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research. (doi:10.1007/s40497-021-00296-9).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Female entrepreneurship is increasingly playing phenomenal roles in the economic growth of many countries. Several businesses employing many people and producing a lot of revenues are created and run by women. Many governments and international bodies are promoting female entrepreneurship fervently especially in developing economies. However, the difficulty that women in resource-constrained economies face in accessing funding to start and grow their businesses makes going into entrepreneurship a wishful dream, thus pointing to low numbers of female ventures in developing countries. However, the phenomenal numbers of female entrepreneurs in certain developing regions such as West Africa present an intriguing situation. This study therefore sought to investigate the funding sources of female entrepreneurs in developing economies and how those sources are combined in funding businesses. Qualitative methods were employed for the study, collecting data through interviews and non-participant observations in two resource-constrained countries of West Africa—Ghana and Ivory Coast. We discovered that women entrepreneurs combined various resources from different sources to start and run businesses. These sources are made possible through their social capital. Prominent sources of funding are gifts/grants from friends, families, and well-wishers; personal savings; and interest-free loans. Few women accessed commercial loans but not until they have grown their businesses up to a certain stage. The study contributes to the social capital and entrepreneurial bricolage theories by extending them to entrepreneurial financing and female entrepreneurship in developing economies. It also adds to the studies questioning the well-publicized salvific role of microfinance in developing countries especially among the poor and vulnerable.

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Making do by doing without Bricolage in the funding sources of female entrepreneurs in resource-constrained environments (002) - Accepted Manuscript
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Accepted/In Press date: 23 December 2019
Published date: 1 June 2021

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 469514
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/469514
ISSN: 2228-7566
PURE UUID: 4dc2a608-329b-4035-9bb5-1c883be45ca6
ORCID for Augustine Awuah Peprah: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-6497-9161

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Date deposited: 16 Sep 2022 16:41
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:14

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Contributors

Author: Bede Akorige Atarah
Author: Augustine Awuah Peprah ORCID iD
Author: Abednego F. Okoe Amartey
Author: Bylon Abeeku Bamfo

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