Work

Women and entrepreneurship: Focus on slum neighborhoods of the developing world

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Despite considerable scholarly attention to entrepreneurship and poverty, research linking women’s entrepreneurship and poverty in slum neighborhoods has been slow to progress. Drawing on an entrepreneurship–poverty nexus and regression results on 12,519 observations, we theorize women’s everyday entrepreneurship in Kenya’s slum neighborhoods. Our analysis offers theoretical insights into the complexities of necessity-driven everyday entrepreneurship in which women are dominant. We distinguish women’s entrepreneurial activities that are embedded in slum systems of everyday entrepreneurship and focused exclusively on a tapestry of essential goods and services, including labor, fuel, energy (for example, charcoal), water, food, and farming. This understanding translates women’s entrepreneurial engagements into quantifiable socio-economic outcomes suitable for slum-like conditions where government resources are considered too few to support basic needs. This has academic, social, and policy implications.

Source: Journal of Small Business Management

DOI: 10.1080/00472778.2026.2685772

Authors: Amon Simba, Mahdi Tajeddin, Paul Jones

Institutions: University of the Witwatersrand, Nottingham Trent University, Saint Mary's University, Swansea University

Language: English

Topic: Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences

Subfield: Management of Technology and Innovation

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences