Being a Female Entrepreneur in Botswana

This paper explains a study of businesswomen as they move from owning and managing informal businesses into the formal economy. The study indicates that business success for rural women in Botswana is specific to the socio-cultural context.

The research study on which this paper is based came about because of a wish to understand how some women learn to move from unemployment in the rural areas of Botswana to owning successful small businesses in an urban setting. The research questions guiding this study focused on two areas of inquiry. First, what contextual and personal factors facilitate or impede the success of women's small businesses? And second, what is the common process that a woman in this culture typically goes through to build a successful business?