Women's entrepreneurship and well-being at the base of the pyramid

Abstract

Women's entrepreneurship at the base of the pyramid can offer a way out of poverty for families, foster the development of communities, and provide a route to modernizing countries. Yet, we know little about what entrepreneurship means for the well-being of these entrepreneurs. This study investigates the well-being of marginalized women entrepreneurs engaged in an entrepreneurship training and venture creation program. Based on a qualitative case study method, our findings show that despite successful venture creation, the women differed in their experiences of well-being, with some flourishing and others languishing. Specifically, we found that the languishing women entrepreneurs lacked family support and prior work experience outside the home, which was associated with abstract goals and unrealistic expectations of venture creation outcomes. In contrast, flourishing women entrepreneurs, benefitting from prior work experience and family support, tended to set concrete goals for their entrepreneurial endeavors and had realistic expectations. Our findings provide new insights into some of the limitations of entrepreneurship programs for women at the base of the pyramid and emphasize the importance of well-being as a measure of successful venture creation.