Women Entrepreneurs in the Middle East

The authors provide a broad view of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and women entrepreneurship in the Middle East, emphasizing the importance of a development strategy to achieve women’s economic empowerment as a critical aspect of attaining sustainable development goals, and fostering good-quality entrepreneurial activity. After framing these issues and reviewing the most relevant academic literature, the authors discuss the differences between the region’s historical and current entrepreneurial conditions and the characteristics of women’s entrepreneurial activity. They also consider the status of the entrepreneurial ecosystems, the policy dimensions, and their potential impact on creating new business activities for women entrepreneurs. Finally, the analysis identified the main strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, reflecting in depth on which policies to adopt to modernize these ecosystems and further engage women in business in the Middle East.