Supporting Growth-Oriented Women Entrepreneurs : A Review of the Evidence and Key Challenges

In recent years, support programs for women entrepreneurs have gained traction and prominence as a means to create jobs and boost productivity at the national and regional levels. However, disparities in initial resource endowments of male and fema...

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Main Authors: Cirera, Xavier, Qasim, Qursum
Format: Brief
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2016
Subjects:
SME
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/09/20344837/supporting-growth-oriented-women-entrepreneurs-review-evidence-key-challenges
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/23654
id okr-10986-23654
recordtype oai_dc
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
en_US
topic ACCESS TO CAPITAL
ACCESS TO CREDIT
ACCESS TO FINANCE
ACCESS TO INFORMATION
ACCESS TO MARKETS
ACCESS TO NETWORKS
APPLICATION PROCESS
BANK ACCOUNTS
BORROWING
BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS
BUSINESS EDUCATION
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
BUSINESS EXPERIENCE
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
BUSINESS NETWORKS
BUSINESS OWNERSHIP
BUSINESS PLAN
BUSINESS TRAINING
BUSINESSWOMEN
CAPITAL RETURNS
CAPITAL STOCK
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
CHARACTERISTICS OF BUSINESS OWNERS
COMPANY
CONSULTING SERVICES
CULTURAL NORMS
CUSTOMER SERVICE
DEVELOPMENT BANK
DIVERSIFICATION
ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
ECONOMIC GROWTH
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
EMPLOYMENT GROWTH
EMPOWERMENT
ENDOWMENTS
ENTERPRISE GROWTH
ENTREPRENEUR
ENTREPRENEURIAL ABILITY
ENTREPRENEURIAL BEHAVIOR
ENTREPRENEURIAL FINANCE
ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS
ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUPPORT
ENTREPRENEURSHIP TRAINING
ENVIRONMENT FOR WOMEN
EQUAL ACCESS
EXPANSION
FAMILY BUSINESS
FAMILY BUSINESSES
FAMILY LAW
FATHER
FEMALE
FEMALE BUSINESS
FEMALE BUSINESSES
FEMALE EMPLOYMENT
FEMALE ENTERPRISE
FEMALE ENTERPRISES
FEMALE ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITIES
FEMALE ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY
FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS
FEMALE ENTREPRENEURSHIP
FEMALE PARTICIPANTS
FEMALE WORKERS
FINANCIAL CAPITAL
FINANCIAL LITERACY
FINANCIAL SKILLS
FIRM SIZE
FIRMS
GENDER
GENDER DIFFERENCES
GENDER DIFFERENTIAL
GENDER DISTRIBUTION
GENDER GAP
GENDER ROLES
GENDER SPECIFIC
GREATER ACCESS
GROUP LENDING
GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES
GROWTH PLANS
HOUSEHOLDS
HUMAN CAPITAL
HUMAN RESOURCES
HUSBAND
INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
JOB CREATION
KEY CHALLENGES
LABOR MARKET
LABOR MARKETS
LACK OF INFORMATION
LIMITED ACCESS
MARKET INFORMATION
MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
MICROENTERPRISES
MICROFINANCE
MICROFINANCE CLIENTS
PERCEPTIONS OF WOMEN
PRODUCTIVE ENTERPRISES
PRODUCTIVITY
PROFESSIONAL NETWORKS
PROFITABILITY
PROVISION OF FINANCE
RATES OF RETURN
REAL ESTATE
SALES GROWTH
SELF-EMPLOYMENT
SMALL BUSINESS
SMALL FIRM
SMALL FIRMS
SMALL-SCALE ENTREPRENEURS
SME
SOCIAL ASSISTANCE
SOCIAL WORK
STARTUP CAPITAL
SUCCESSFUL WOMEN
SUPPLY CHAINS
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
TECHNICAL TRAINING
THEORY OF THE FIRM
UNCTAD
VENTURE CAPITAL
VENTURE CAPITAL FUNDS
WOMAN
WOMEN BUSINESS OWNERS
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
WOMEN OWNER
YOUTH
spellingShingle ACCESS TO CAPITAL
ACCESS TO CREDIT
ACCESS TO FINANCE
ACCESS TO INFORMATION
ACCESS TO MARKETS
ACCESS TO NETWORKS
APPLICATION PROCESS
BANK ACCOUNTS
BORROWING
BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS
BUSINESS EDUCATION
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
BUSINESS EXPERIENCE
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
BUSINESS NETWORKS
BUSINESS OWNERSHIP
BUSINESS PLAN
BUSINESS TRAINING
BUSINESSWOMEN
CAPITAL RETURNS
CAPITAL STOCK
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
CHARACTERISTICS OF BUSINESS OWNERS
COMPANY
CONSULTING SERVICES
CULTURAL NORMS
CUSTOMER SERVICE
DEVELOPMENT BANK
DIVERSIFICATION
ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
ECONOMIC GROWTH
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
EMPLOYMENT GROWTH
EMPOWERMENT
ENDOWMENTS
ENTERPRISE GROWTH
ENTREPRENEUR
ENTREPRENEURIAL ABILITY
ENTREPRENEURIAL BEHAVIOR
ENTREPRENEURIAL FINANCE
ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS
ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUPPORT
ENTREPRENEURSHIP TRAINING
ENVIRONMENT FOR WOMEN
EQUAL ACCESS
EXPANSION
FAMILY BUSINESS
FAMILY BUSINESSES
FAMILY LAW
FATHER
FEMALE
FEMALE BUSINESS
FEMALE BUSINESSES
FEMALE EMPLOYMENT
FEMALE ENTERPRISE
FEMALE ENTERPRISES
FEMALE ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITIES
FEMALE ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY
FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS
FEMALE ENTREPRENEURSHIP
FEMALE PARTICIPANTS
FEMALE WORKERS
FINANCIAL CAPITAL
FINANCIAL LITERACY
FINANCIAL SKILLS
FIRM SIZE
FIRMS
GENDER
GENDER DIFFERENCES
GENDER DIFFERENTIAL
GENDER DISTRIBUTION
GENDER GAP
GENDER ROLES
GENDER SPECIFIC
GREATER ACCESS
GROUP LENDING
GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES
GROWTH PLANS
HOUSEHOLDS
HUMAN CAPITAL
HUMAN RESOURCES
HUSBAND
INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
JOB CREATION
KEY CHALLENGES
LABOR MARKET
LABOR MARKETS
LACK OF INFORMATION
LIMITED ACCESS
MARKET INFORMATION
MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
MICROENTERPRISES
MICROFINANCE
MICROFINANCE CLIENTS
PERCEPTIONS OF WOMEN
PRODUCTIVE ENTERPRISES
PRODUCTIVITY
PROFESSIONAL NETWORKS
PROFITABILITY
PROVISION OF FINANCE
RATES OF RETURN
REAL ESTATE
SALES GROWTH
SELF-EMPLOYMENT
SMALL BUSINESS
SMALL FIRM
SMALL FIRMS
SMALL-SCALE ENTREPRENEURS
SME
SOCIAL ASSISTANCE
SOCIAL WORK
STARTUP CAPITAL
SUCCESSFUL WOMEN
SUPPLY CHAINS
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
TECHNICAL TRAINING
THEORY OF THE FIRM
UNCTAD
VENTURE CAPITAL
VENTURE CAPITAL FUNDS
WOMAN
WOMEN BUSINESS OWNERS
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
WOMEN OWNER
YOUTH
Cirera, Xavier
Qasim, Qursum
Supporting Growth-Oriented Women Entrepreneurs : A Review of the Evidence and Key Challenges
relation Innovation, technology and entrepreneurship policy note;no. 5
description In recent years, support programs for women entrepreneurs have gained traction and prominence as a means to create jobs and boost productivity at the national and regional levels. However, disparities in initial resource endowments of male and female-led firms, sector sorting into low productivity activities, social norms, and institutional arrangements, constrain the growth of female-led enterprises. This note reviews the outcomes of programs supporting female growth entrepreneurs and draws lessons from available evidence to inform the design of more effective programs. The review shows that most programs are primarily geared toward microenterprises, making it difficult to draw conclusions about program design for growth-oriented entrepreneurs, but some early findings point the way forward. Management practices appear to improve as a result of business education, but there is little robust evidence to prove that support programs lead to significant improvements in business performance outcomes. Furthermore, in programs with both male and female participants, firm performance improves in some cases for male-led firms only, not for female-led firms. The note concludes by suggesting the need for more experimentation in the design and delivery of services and a new focus on strengthening the engendering of support programs to more specifically address gender-specific constraints such as social norms, entrepreneurial preferences, and institutional arrangements, changing public discourse, and paying more attention to factors that induce female entrepreneurs to diversify into higher value-added activities. Offering mentoring, networking, and other consulting services, in addition to education on basic business practices and strengthening critical areas such as gender-specific content, can potentially increase the effectiveness of these programs.
format Brief
author Cirera, Xavier
Qasim, Qursum
author_facet Cirera, Xavier
Qasim, Qursum
author_sort Cirera, Xavier
title Supporting Growth-Oriented Women Entrepreneurs : A Review of the Evidence and Key Challenges
title_short Supporting Growth-Oriented Women Entrepreneurs : A Review of the Evidence and Key Challenges
title_full Supporting Growth-Oriented Women Entrepreneurs : A Review of the Evidence and Key Challenges
title_fullStr Supporting Growth-Oriented Women Entrepreneurs : A Review of the Evidence and Key Challenges
title_full_unstemmed Supporting Growth-Oriented Women Entrepreneurs : A Review of the Evidence and Key Challenges
title_sort supporting growth-oriented women entrepreneurs : a review of the evidence and key challenges
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2016
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/09/20344837/supporting-growth-oriented-women-entrepreneurs-review-evidence-key-challenges
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/23654
_version_ 1764454447245688832
spelling okr-10986-236542021-06-14T10:21:18Z Supporting Growth-Oriented Women Entrepreneurs : A Review of the Evidence and Key Challenges Cirera, Xavier Qasim, Qursum ACCESS TO CAPITAL ACCESS TO CREDIT ACCESS TO FINANCE ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACCESS TO MARKETS ACCESS TO NETWORKS APPLICATION PROCESS BANK ACCOUNTS BORROWING BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS BUSINESS EDUCATION BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT BUSINESS EXPERIENCE BUSINESS MANAGEMENT BUSINESS NETWORKS BUSINESS OWNERSHIP BUSINESS PLAN BUSINESS TRAINING BUSINESSWOMEN CAPITAL RETURNS CAPITAL STOCK CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE CHARACTERISTICS OF BUSINESS OWNERS COMPANY CONSULTING SERVICES CULTURAL NORMS CUSTOMER SERVICE DEVELOPMENT BANK DIVERSIFICATION ECONOMIC ACTIVITY ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYMENT GROWTH EMPOWERMENT ENDOWMENTS ENTERPRISE GROWTH ENTREPRENEUR ENTREPRENEURIAL ABILITY ENTREPRENEURIAL BEHAVIOR ENTREPRENEURIAL FINANCE ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUPPORT ENTREPRENEURSHIP TRAINING ENVIRONMENT FOR WOMEN EQUAL ACCESS EXPANSION FAMILY BUSINESS FAMILY BUSINESSES FAMILY LAW FATHER FEMALE FEMALE BUSINESS FEMALE BUSINESSES FEMALE EMPLOYMENT FEMALE ENTERPRISE FEMALE ENTERPRISES FEMALE ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITIES FEMALE ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS FEMALE ENTREPRENEURSHIP FEMALE PARTICIPANTS FEMALE WORKERS FINANCIAL CAPITAL FINANCIAL LITERACY FINANCIAL SKILLS FIRM SIZE FIRMS GENDER GENDER DIFFERENCES GENDER DIFFERENTIAL GENDER DISTRIBUTION GENDER GAP GENDER ROLES GENDER SPECIFIC GREATER ACCESS GROUP LENDING GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES GROWTH PLANS HOUSEHOLDS HUMAN CAPITAL HUMAN RESOURCES HUSBAND INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK JOB CREATION KEY CHALLENGES LABOR MARKET LABOR MARKETS LACK OF INFORMATION LIMITED ACCESS MARKET INFORMATION MEDIUM ENTERPRISES MICROENTERPRISES MICROFINANCE MICROFINANCE CLIENTS PERCEPTIONS OF WOMEN PRODUCTIVE ENTERPRISES PRODUCTIVITY PROFESSIONAL NETWORKS PROFITABILITY PROVISION OF FINANCE RATES OF RETURN REAL ESTATE SALES GROWTH SELF-EMPLOYMENT SMALL BUSINESS SMALL FIRM SMALL FIRMS SMALL-SCALE ENTREPRENEURS SME SOCIAL ASSISTANCE SOCIAL WORK STARTUP CAPITAL SUCCESSFUL WOMEN SUPPLY CHAINS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TECHNICAL TRAINING THEORY OF THE FIRM UNCTAD VENTURE CAPITAL VENTURE CAPITAL FUNDS WOMAN WOMEN BUSINESS OWNERS WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP WOMEN OWNER YOUTH In recent years, support programs for women entrepreneurs have gained traction and prominence as a means to create jobs and boost productivity at the national and regional levels. However, disparities in initial resource endowments of male and female-led firms, sector sorting into low productivity activities, social norms, and institutional arrangements, constrain the growth of female-led enterprises. This note reviews the outcomes of programs supporting female growth entrepreneurs and draws lessons from available evidence to inform the design of more effective programs. The review shows that most programs are primarily geared toward microenterprises, making it difficult to draw conclusions about program design for growth-oriented entrepreneurs, but some early findings point the way forward. Management practices appear to improve as a result of business education, but there is little robust evidence to prove that support programs lead to significant improvements in business performance outcomes. Furthermore, in programs with both male and female participants, firm performance improves in some cases for male-led firms only, not for female-led firms. The note concludes by suggesting the need for more experimentation in the design and delivery of services and a new focus on strengthening the engendering of support programs to more specifically address gender-specific constraints such as social norms, entrepreneurial preferences, and institutional arrangements, changing public discourse, and paying more attention to factors that induce female entrepreneurs to diversify into higher value-added activities. Offering mentoring, networking, and other consulting services, in addition to education on basic business practices and strengthening critical areas such as gender-specific content, can potentially increase the effectiveness of these programs. 2016-01-14T19:52:03Z 2016-01-14T19:52:03Z 2014-09 Brief http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/09/20344837/supporting-growth-oriented-women-entrepreneurs-review-evidence-key-challenges http://hdl.handle.net/10986/23654 English en_US Innovation, technology and entrepreneurship policy note;no. 5 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Brief Publications & Research