THE CHALLENGES OF FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS OPERATING IN THE MIDDLE EAST : Group 33

Abstract: Background The Middle East is a region that consists of 17 countries: Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Cyprus, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia (Pariona, 2020). Due to the persistent presence of old social and cultural structures, inequality remains a problem within the region. Every day, females in the region are faced with discrimination in various forms - something which becomes evident in the existing statistics, which show that only 28 percent of all females in the MENA region are economically active (Hattab, 2012).    However, it has been possible to identify improvements within the development of society as well as in the work to counteract inequality. Hence, it becomes increasingly important to gain a greater understanding of the region as a whole as well as gain knowledge regarding the existing challenges that female entrepreneurs experience.    Purpose The purpose of this research is to gain an understanding of the different challenges that female entrepreneurs face when launching, managing, and developing a business in the Middle East region.    Method This research is a qualitative study in which an abductive approach has been used. Therefore, the conclusions will be drawn from the empirical findings in combination with the results in the existing literature. Furthermore, in order to obtain high-quality and truthful data, a case-study with a semi-structured interview technique was used. All six interviews were later analysed by all researchers individually as well as jointly in order to ensure that no important information was lost.    Conclusion Based on the empirical findings in combination with the existing literature, three contextual factors were identified as the main challenges of female entrepreneurs when operating in the Middle East region. The following contextual challenges were identified: 1) Lack of Finance, 2) Lack of Support, and 3) Discrimination.