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Purpose -This paper seeks to explore the strategic decision-making process by women owner-managers of Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in developing countries, focusing on environmental dynamics as a strategy for the development of the MSE sector. The paper reviews existing literature and experience on women leadership and decision-making process. Design/methodology/approach -The paper reports on empirical evidence drawn from a pilot investigation in Kenya. A total of nine married women owner-managers from different backgrounds were selected and a series of qualitative interviews conducted. Findings -Evidence in the paper finds that women, whether pushed or pulled into starting an enterprise, desire to make independent decisions. Lack of resources made them dependent on their spouses, thus limiting their capacity to make independent decisions. Those pushed into setting up subsistence enterprises had greater discretion in terms of decision making compared with those who started enterprises to exploit an opportunity and whose basic needs were comfortably met by the spouse's income. Other factors determining levels of decision making include: culture, level of education and poverty. Practical implications -In the paper the implications for policy include: promotional activities; creating appropriate legal and regulatory frameworks; capacity building programmes for potential entrepreneurs and their spouses, provision of child care facilities; and business support services and other intermediaries that might include dedicated financing programmes. Originality/value -The paper shows that the respondents in this study were small in number, narrowly defined group of micro entrepreneurs who may or may not be similar to other small business owners. The data were indicative of subjects' individual circumstances, which may be entirely different from others' situations.

A paradigm shift is underway in Kenya. New innovations are destroying old ways of doing business, and smart young start-up entrepreneurs are at the forefront of this quiet but historic transformation. Teams of skilled developers and programmers have sprung up in innovation hubs, incubators, and accelerators across the country to build information and telecom solutions that capitalize on the country’s mix of challenges and opportunities. At the same time, we have seen a number of spinoffs of Kenya’s unique entrepreneurial revolution reach across Africa and into other corners of the world, attracting global recognition for the country.

This chapter provides an analysis of the policy process that led to the information and communications technology (ICT) boom in Kenya during President Mwai Kibaki’s administration (2003–2013). It offers an analysis of the policy development that spurred the highly successful innovations in the country’s ICT sector. The chapter explains the course of establishing the institutions that supported ICT entrepreneurship and describes the process involved in the making of far-reaching policies and analyzes three case studies in ICT policy development—The East Africa Marine Systems (TEAMS) project, the M-Pesa application project, and the Posta land development project—and discusses their contributions to the ICT boom in Kenya.

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