Safe Spaces - A Qualitative Study About the Barriers to Female Growth-Oriented Entrepreneurship and How These Can Be Mitigated by Business Support Programs in Kampala, Uganda

Abstract: Growth-oriented businesses are those that have the potential to create jobs, support communities, and achieve higher productivity (Olafsen and Cook, 2016; Schoar, 2010), thus contributing to a nation's economic development. Female-growth oriented entrepreneurs, however, are largely neglected in research, particularly in developing economies. This thesis aims to investigate the challenges Ugandan female growth-oriented entrepreneurs face and how business support program (BSP) services can help mitigate those barriers. Qualitative, in-depth interviews and non-participant observations were conducted with the purpose of gaining an in-depth understanding of the entrepreneurs' experiences in the BSP environments. The theoretical contribution of this paper is twofold. First, it contributes to the body of literature on the challenges faced by female-growth oriented entrepreneurs in developing countries, providing explanations from socio-economic and managerial theoretical bodies. Second, it adds a gender embedded lens to the literature on organisation of BSPs, giving recommendations for ways to tailor BSPs to women in the context of a developing country. The findings suggest that female growth entrepreneurs in Uganda experience challenges that are significantly influenced by societal structures. Although BSPs were found to not meet many of these challenges directly, the BSP can act as a tool that helps women entrepreneurs respond to these barriers.