Micro-Enterprises, Performance Factors, and the Role of Gender

Abstract

Life in developing countries often relies on informal economy and micro-enterprises, often created and managed by women. Their performance has been studied in the literature of management and world development and factors of success have been suggested among which the access to micro-financing organizations, being member of network, having an innovative spirit and accepting the related risk and being able to overcome hostile business conditions. The difficulties are reported as being worst for women who suffers from stereotypes about their abilities and negative cultural factors. This chapter reports on a cross-sectional study among 200 entrepreneurs and test those hypothesis.