Abstract
Literature reveals the need for entrepreneurship training programmes that focus on the skills required by female entrepreneurs. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Women Entrepreneurship Programme (WEP) as an initiative to provide entrepreneurial and business skills to female entrepreneurs. An experimental group of 116 women attended this training intervention whereas 64 women formed the control group who did not attend the WEP. The findings highlight that through the WEP the experimental group gained new skills and knowledge relevant to running a business; increased their confidence in their entrepreneurial abilities; and used these skills to start new ventures.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Antonites, A. J., & Van Vuuren, J. J. (2002). Recent development regarding the content of entrepreneurial training programmes. Proceedings from the IntEnt 2001 conferences, South Africa, June.
Blenker, P., Dreisler, P., & Nielsen, K. (2003). Promoting entrepreneurship—changing attitudes or behaviour? Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 10, 383–393.
Carter, S. (2000). Improving the numbers and performance of women-owned businesses: Some implications for training and advisory services. Education and Training, 42, 326–334.
Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P. S. (2001). Business research methods (7th edn.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Hisrich, R. D., Peters, M. P., & Shepherd, D. A. (2005). Entrepreneurship (6th edn). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Nieman, G. H. (2001). Training entrepreneurs and small business enterprises in South Africa: A situational analysis. Education and Training, 43, 445–451.
Nieman, G. H., & Bennet, A. (2006). Business management: A value chain approach (2nd edn.). Pretoria: Van Schaik.
O’Neill, R. C., & Viljoen, L. (2001). Support for female entrepreneurs in South Africa: Improvement or decline? Journal of Family Ecology and Consumer Sciences, 29, 37–44.
Orford, J., Wood, E., Fischer, C., Herrington, M., & Segal, N. (2003). Global entrepreneurship monitor: South African executive report. Cape Town: University of Cape Town.
Richardson, P., & Hartshorn, C. (1993). Business start-up training: The gender dimension in businesses. In A. J. Smith (Ed.), Women in business: Perspectives on women entrepreneurs (pp. 103–112). London: Routledge.
Smith-Hunter, A. E., & Boyd, R. L. (2004). Applying theories of entrepreneurship to a comparative analysis of white and minority women business owners. Women in Management Review, 19(1), 18–28.
Stanger, A. M. J. (2004). Gender-comparative use of small business training and assistance: A literature review. Education and Training, 46, 464–473.
Van Auken, H. E. (1999). Obstacles to business launch. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 4, 175–187.
Wickham, P. A. (1998). Strategic entrepreneurship: A decision-making approach to new venture creation and management. London: Pitman.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Botha, M., Nieman, G. & van Vuuren, J. Enhancing female entrepreneurship by enabling access to skills. Int Entrep Manag J 2, 479–493 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-006-0011-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-006-0011-2