Female entrepreneurship in Ghana: factors of entrepreneurial success towards women entrepreneurs

Purpose of the Paper: This study seeks to critically explore the factors that contribute towards women entrepreneurial success in Ghana. The study adds to the growing body of qualitative research in entrepreneurship in agreement with Hindle, (2004:577) who states inter alia; “unless entrepreneurship begin(s) to embrace higher volumes of higher caliber qualitative research, the relevance and potency of the entrepreneurial canon will be severely compromised by a lack of the methodological variety that is so strongly displayed in other social sciences”. Therefore, researchers intend to critically examine innovations successful female entrepreneurs in Ghana use to run their business; and to identify the approaches Ghanaian women entrepreneurs adopt to finance their business
Design/methodology/ approach: The study employs institutional theory to critically investigate the factors that contribute to entrepreneurial success of women in Ghana. Qualitative interviews will be used to collect data from Ghanaian female entrepreneurs. The data gathered will be analysed using the thematic method.
Research limitations/ Implications: This study is expecting to face some limitations in relation to coverage and scope. Firstly, in terms of coverage, this study aims to concentrate largely on female entrepreneurs who reside in the capital city (Accra). Secondly, in relation to scope, the study intends to employ institutional theory to study female entrepreneurship in a single country (Ghana). Considering these limitations, it is possible to address the identified limitations in future studies.
Practical implications: The study will explore the success factors of female entrepreneurs in Ghana thereby encouraging them to stay focused on the things they have done which has brought them success. This will be together with exploring the challenges faced and technique used towards overcoming the barriers as well as recommendation for government strategies towards developing required support to among women entrepreneurs in the country.
Social implications: This study will be useful for the unveiling the potential contribution of women entrepreneurs in their immediate community. Researchers intended to influence the country Government towards implementing some specific strategies and policies that encourage entrepreneurial success based on highlighted factors in the study.
Originality/value of paper: The study and the findings will be an original empirical work done by researchers with various secondary information used in the analysis being acknowledged and cited. The scientific novelty and value of this paper lies on the fact of research utilising institutional theory empirically to study the entrepreneurial success of women in Ghana.