RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTION OF FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: SOME EVIDENCE FROM GHANA

Abstract

In recent decades, female entrepreneurs have been seen to contribute to the economic development of nations especially in developing countries. Until now the contribution of female entrepreneurs to economic development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has been relegated to the background or ignored in development circles. Part of the reason is because female entrepreneurs mainly work in the informal economy and are necessity driven and marginalized. The main research question the study poses is 'what is the contribution of female entrepreneurs to socio-economic development in SSA?' This paper seeks to answer this by examining critically the contribution of female entrepreneurs from Ghana as a means to achieve economic development. The study employs a qualitative approach using multiple case study design. To examine female entrepreneurship, a 2014 survey involving face-to-face interviews of 60 female entrepreneurs from Accra in Ghana is analyzed. The key finding is that, although male entrepreneurs contribute significantly more to economic development than their female counterparts, there remains untapped potential for female entrepreneurs becoming key players for achieving economic development. This and other findings of the study have some implications for policy on female entrepreneurship. Therefore, there is a call to harness these potentials through policies that would promote female entrepreneurship on an equal wavelength as their male counterparts. This is the first known study of female entrepreneurship as a catalyst for economic development in Ghana.