THE DILEMMA OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS: A CASE OF MAURITIUS - A SMALL ISLAND ECONOMY

Abstract

This paper represents the preliminary work to a national study on Women Entrepreneurs in Mauritius, a small island economy. Entrepreneurship is a growing field of research as most Governments are investing heavily in developing the entrepreneurial culture. The growth and development of small and medium enterprises equates to economic growth as it generates income, creates employment and wealth. Mauritius is no exception and the Government is promoting women entrepreneurship as a main pillar for growth and development. Yet, the entrepreneurial culture is still highly questionable with women being scattered all over the island and does not have proper guidance where to start. The main aim of this paper is to detect the main drivers that push women towards entrepreneurship and the constraints they face along the way. This paper explores the literature on entrepreneurship, with emphasis on women entrepreneurs and then it considers the data collected in a focus group to identify the SWOT analysis of women entrepreneurship in Mauritius. Also the paper discusses the context of the study. Nevertheless, aspects of women entrepreneurs in the country need improvements such as visibility, finance and the in-built confidence that women entrepreneurs need to have to start and grow their business.

Key Words: Women Entrepreneurs, Small Island Economy

For full paper: fmscresearch@sjp.ac.lk