Female Entrepreneurship in Egypt: New Theoretical and Public Policy Implication

Abstract

This paper is a report that aims to review research and reports on female entrepreneurship in order to guide and inform academics and public policy agencies about the opportunities and challenges surrounding female entrepreneurship in emerging markets such as Egypt. The female entrepreneurship discourse thus far highlights the need for further studies to advance the understanding of female entrepreneurship phenomenon. Therefore, this paper is one of the few research discussing female self-employment and entrepreneurial choices in Egypt. It also aims at synthesizing the previous literature and technical reports on female entrepreneurship to explore the challenges facing female entrepreneurs in general and in Egypt in specific. The paper builds on the institutional theory to delineate the operand and operant resources necessary to boost female entrepreneurship in emerging markets. The research implications should assist stakeholders to perceive the role of entrepreneurial marketing education in enhancing entrepreneurial success and solve the controversial role of the institutional environment in constraining female entrepreneurship. Finally, the paper will discuss future research opportunities and public policy implications for female entrepreneurship in Egypt. The paper is organized as follows. First, an introduction about the female entrepreneurship phenomenon in Egypt and the Arab and countries are introduced. Then, the second section discusses what female entrepreneurship means and the current status of the female-owned and managed organizations in Egypt. Next, a synthesis of the extant literature on female entrepreneurship is provided to explicate the drivers of female entrepreneurship success. Finally, concluding remarks about the future of female entrepreneurship studies and public policy implications are presented.