Women Entrepreneurs and Business Angel: A Difficult Relationship

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the phenomenon of the business angel, considered one of the main ways of obtaining external financing by women entrepreneurs. Through a search conducted on the Scopus database, 26 articles have been selected that deal with the problem of finding external sources required by women entrepreneurs. It has been shown that women entrepreneurs are discriminated against by business angels for various reasons including the lack of work experience acquired, the level of education and the lack of social networks useful for interacting with them. The business angel phenomenon has been analyzed in China, Japan, and Sweden, therefore, research could be conducted in Italy, given the scarcity. Furthermore, only the business angel was analyzed as a source of external financing so other ways to receive resources from the external environment could be discussed. This is an article that deals with the problem on how women entrepreneurs find themselves having to face when they decide to start their own business.