Entrepreneurial ecosystems created by woman entrepreneurs in Botswana

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore how woman entrepreneurs in a developing country context such as Botswana create their own entrepreneurial ecosystems that support their business-venturing activities.Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative research collected data via in-depth interviews from a purposive sample of 11 women who owned established enterprises in Gaborone, Botswana.Findings/results: Firstly, woman entrepreneurs in Botswana displayed entrepreneurial behaviours, skills and characteristics, an ability to overcome marginalisation and a positive attitude towards failure. Secondly, the entrepreneurial ecosystems created by women included social capital ties, human capital development, alternative funding mechanisms, access to local and international markets and inclusion of digital technology as part of the ecosystem. The woman entrepreneurs were influenced by the entrepreneurial institutional conditions in Botswana. Lastly, the findings showed the significance of changes to each component of the entrepreneurial ecosystem across the stages of the entrepreneurial journey.Practical implications: In a context of limited entrepreneurial resources, woman entrepreneurs should build their own ecosystem by leveraging the existing social networks and collaborating with local and international stakeholders. Government should design tailor-made entrepreneurial programmes and foster public and private partnerships to support the advancement of woman entrepreneurs. Lastly, ecosystem players including private institutions should collaborate to support women-owned entrepreneurial ventures.Originality/value: This study adopted an alternative view that woman entrepreneurs can be the key drivers of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. This system must be built up from the level of the women entrepreneurs to better understand their specific stance and also the context in which they operate.

Advancing a Contextualized, Community-Centric Understanding of Social Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

“…This literature mainly frames social entrepreneurs as the key drivers within the ecosystem. Thus, in Morocco they are “drivers of growth” (Kebbaj et al, 2016) or, in India, “drivers of inclusive growth and sustainable development” (Ambati, 2020, p. 1) who can bring changes to the lives of communities living at the “bottom of the pyramid.” Another interesting feature of this literature is its focus on the importance of supportive ecosystems for particular groups of social entrepreneurs, particularly female social entrepreneurs—for instance in Botswana (Mamabolo & Lekoko, 2021) or India (Vohra, 2017) where there is the need for a “carefully nurtured ecosystem of producers, consumers, employees and partners” (Vohra, 2017, p. 136).…”

Emprendimiento social: revisión de la literatura y análisis conceptual

“…En Botswana empresarias exitosas cimentaron su ecosistema empresarial a través de sus propias percepciones, para lo cual seleccionaron e interactuaron con varios actores quienes brindaron el apoyo en las diferentes etapas del desarrollo de su negocio. En Botswana las empresarias exitosas fomentaron su propio ecosistema empresarial desde sus propias apreciaciones, quienes escogieron e interactuaron con actores del habitad, quienes brindaron soporte en las etapas de implementación del desarrollo de su comercio, realizaron viajes y de sus experiencias lo aplicaron en su actividad comercial, lo precisa (Mamabolo & Lekoko, 2021). Actualmente, la presencia de las mujeres crece considerablemente, quienes vienen alcanzando sus objetivos con innovación, son líderes de diversas organizaciones públicas y privadas.…”

Increasing the competitiveness of business ecosystems by identifying the social values of the regional community

“…Business ecosystems are one of the most relevant areas of modern economic research and include the following main aspects: the essence of business ecosystems and their typology [1,2]; features of innovative and digital business ecosystems and prospects for their development [3,4]; institutional support of business ecosystems [5,6]; ecosystem monopoly [7,8]; ecosystem models [9,10]; landscape of business ecosystems [11,12].…”