Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / Low economic growth, high unemployment and debilitating poverty pose a major threat to the social fabric of South Africa. Entrepreneurship and the establishment of small businesses play a key role in stimulating the South African economy, creating jobs, uplifting living standards and overcoming the injustices of poverty. Compared with other developing economies, South Africa (SA) has one of the lowest entrepreneurial activity rates. Women small- and medium- enterprise (SME) owners, and particularly those from previously disadvantaged socio-economic communities, play a vital role in addressing this situation. There are a number of initiatives aimed at building the capacity of women SME owners in SA. The ILIMA Trust is one such initiative which, through its coaching and mentoring programme, supports women SME owners who come from previously disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, to start up and grow their enterprises. The work of the Trust is primarily focused on such women SME owners who receive financial loans from Masisizane, a sister company of the Trust. This research study aims to establish the stakeholder experiences of the ILIMA Trust's coaching and mentoring programme of Masisizane women SME owners and to identify ways in which it can be improved. The case study provides an in-depth description of the stakeholders‟ experiences of the ILIMA Trust's coaching and mentoring of the Masisizane SME owners. Several strengths of the coaching and mentoring programme are reported. Areas of improvement are pointed out and recommendations are made to strengthen the programme.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This report is an exploratory study assessing the life stages of South African women entrepreneurs. The purpose is to share significant learnings, experiences and challenges from an entrepreneurial perspective. The study followed a phenomenological approach; the findings have been formed based on the lived experiences of the women without imposing bias or existing knowledge frameworks. The study aims to share meaningful experiences from their situational contexts. The sample consisted of ten South African women entrepreneurs in various industries. The industries range from packaging, clothing, fast moving consumer goods (food), communications, accommodation, and asset management. Important findings of the study are that having relevant work experience, expertise in their fields, and established reputations within their respective industries assisted the participating women in establishing their businesses. However, the younger entrepreneurs with limited work experience were also able to establish successful enterprises owing to being highly skilled in their areas of expertise. They had chosen to study courses, after identifying their passions. They had specifically chosen courses directly related to the businesses they created in order to improve their expertise further. One participant was an exception to the women entrepreneurs participating. She had started her business with no related work experience and no expertise with regards to her product offering. In her case, passion for her product, upskilling herself, having a support structure, and having access to mentorship, assisted her in overcoming challenges.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Johannesburg, March 31st 2016 / The purpose of this research is to understand female entrepreneurship from the perspective of the female entrepreneurs themselves. Much of the literature in this field has been in the context of developed countries, and relatively little research has explored the entrepreneurial experiences of women entrepreneurs in developing countries. The study followed the interpretive approach utilising a social constructivist theoretical perspective, which sought to understand female entrepreneurs in terms of their subjectively constructed reality. Forty-three purposively selected female entrepreneurs, whose businesses had transitioned from the informal economy to the formal economy, were both observed and interviewed in depth. The data were analysed using principles of constant comparison and coding, then used to formulate theoretical propositions of female entrepreneurship. During the coding process, care was taken to safeguard the language and voice of the interviewees from the raw data through to the contribution to theory. This study reveals that female entrepreneurs’ initial identities evolve through unshackling themselves from the imposed patriarchal structures into new identities. Their initial identities were disenfranchised and shaped by their historical context. The female entrepreneurs engage in a process of balancing through their own agency; this shift is essential to their functioning as successful entrepreneurs. The circumstances and motivation for these female entrepreneurs typified the intentions of other female entrepreneurs; they were compelled to juggle their family considerations with the demands of their entrepreneurial activities. Notably, they relied on their personal expertise, and augmented their personal financial resources with bootstrapping instead of relying on debt. In addition, the study indicates that family, religion, and community are the driving forces sustaining the commitment to entrepreneurship amongst these women; it is not profit alone, although income is important to sustain those who rely on their support. The results indicate a strong association between historical context - understood in terms of cultural traditions - and female entrepreneurial activities. Culture and family can either be a constraint on, or an enabler of female entrepreneurship in a developing country context. In summary, the study may be helpful to current and future entrepreneurs as it examined the personal lived experiences as well as the contextual influences of these courageous women. / MB2016

This dissertation responds to Joan Thirsk's call for historians to undertake a closer investigation of commercial gardening. It adopts a micro-historical approach, to address two questions, 'What was a gardener?', and 'What was a garden business?'' Based in the parish of Fulham (including the hamlet of Hammersmith), Middlesex, the parish with the largest acreage of commercial gardening in England in 1796, the study applies nominal linkage to a variety of sources to understand more fully the gardeners, garden businesses, and gardening families between 1680 and 1861. The dissertation exploits sources with occupational descriptors, including livery company apprentice registers, bankruptcies and insolvencies, clandestine marriage registers, Bank of England accounts, and fire insurance policies, not used previously for a statistical examination of gardening. Quantitative data are set in a rich context using qualitative sources such as newspapers, Old Bailey proceedings and property surveys. Tracing occupational terms through the sources shows that records created by parish and government bodies relied on a few customary terms, each encompassing several different functions in gardening, for much longer than commercial documents, demonstrating how reliance on one source can be misleading. In this study I argue that occupational descriptors in gardening reflected the focus, but failed to capture the entirety, of what was produced in a garden business. From the early eighteenth century garden businesses should not be viewed simply as a market garden or nursery; they cultivated a diversity of horticultural products, but are also found to have had a variety of other agricultural interests and economic pursuits, introducing new products and responding to new opportunities: gardeners did not only garden. Contrary to the claims of some historians this was not just an early phase in the transition from agriculture to specialist gardening but persisted into the nineteenth century. This study contributes not only to the history of commercial gardening but also to wider debates in agricultural and business history. From four land-use maps, dated between 1747 and 1843/5 the changing acreage and locations of gardens have been identified, and the first graphical representation of the land use in the parish from the tithe apportionment schedules is presented. The complex interaction between competing land uses is examined providing new findings about how the garden industry adapted in the face of pressures from urban development and other agricultural needs. Examination of the occupational structure of the industry has been approached through several sources. Very few gardeners were apprenticed, but some families continued to obtain training as gardeners and commercial advantages through one of five different livery companies, as well as the Gardeners' Company. The parish registers give the first tentative estimate of the size of the industry, while registers of clandestine marriages suggest that gardeners were a significant proportion of the middling sort in Fulham in the early eighteenth century. Comparison of gardening occupations in the 1841, 1851 and 1861 census enumerators' books provide insights into the structure of the industry but also reveal the inconsistent application of terminology, resulting in the reliability and validity of some of the data being questioned. The implication is that only the 1851 census gives an accurate occupational structure for gardening industry. The findings of previous studies that most gardeners rented their land have been confirmed. On the bishop of London's estate the rents were low during the eighteenth century, but few gardeners were his head lessees and therefore able to benefit. Gardeners had a range of wealth, sufficient for some to have a comfortable living as part of the middling sort while a few had accrued greater wealth from gardening. Garden businesses rarely became bankrupt or insolvent and mainly when there were general economic downturns. Businesses were left predominantly to widows or sons, with the intention of keeping businesses operating and resulting in the establishment of garden business dynasties. The wealth of some businesses demonstrates the benefit of trans-generational transfer, others fared well enough for their business to continue on a smaller scale, but many names came and went from Fulham and Hammersmith commercial gardens in one generation.

Thesis (MBA) --University of Limpopo, 2010 / Governments worldwide have acknowledged the impact of Small, Micro and Medium (SMME) organisations on job creation, improvement of people’s standards of living and hence an overall impact on the economy. Women are playing an important role in contributing to countries’ economic development and better governance, and the well-being of their communities and households. In March 2007, about 45% of women were owning and managing a business. In a country like South Africa with a high unemployment rate a provision of better opportunities for women could lead to improvements in poverty reduction and accelerated economic growth. However in South Africa women involvement in entrepreneurship has remained constant despite a number of initiatives by the government. The existence of gender-related barriers thwarts the economic potential of women as entrepreneurs and workers. Such barriers have an adverse impact on enterprise development, productivity, and competitiveness in the economy. Consequently, addressing gender-specific barriers and other challenges to entrepreneurship and leveraging the full participation of women in the development of South Africa together represents a significant opportunity to unleash productive potential and to strengthen economic growth. It is therefore important to understand the environment in which these women operate and the challenges they face. The literature indicates that despite significant progress in creating an enabling environment for SMMEs, much work remains, with a majority of enterprises remaining in the nascent and 'baby business' phases (less than 3.5 years in existence). Research by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) suggests that the survival rate for start-ups in South Africa is low and that the opportunity forentrepreneurial activity is the lowest of all the reviewed developing countries (Allen et al, 2007:8; the DTI, 2008:48) A quantitative study design was employed for this project. A closed-ended questionnaire was sent out, focusing on women in small business in Capricorn District Municipality as a unit of analysis. Capricorn District Municipality has one thousand four hundred 1400 registered women business. One-hundred-and-fifty (150) questionnaires were sent out to the respondents and fifty two (52) questionnaires were returned. The research findings indicated that 29% of the women sought advice from business development services and from local business support centre respectively. While 23% of the women sought advice from business women association and 17% sought advice from other sources. 27% of the women indicated lack of business skills as the main stumbling block in the establishment of business while 23% indicated that they encountered inadequate access to finance and credit facility as the main problem of starting business. Most of the women consulted were from small and micro-enterprise, the writer could not get their views of the experiences in other sectors. The other challenges were that the sample was relatively small due to difficulties experienced in getting the number of women in small business in the Capricorn District Municipality.

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Past research reveals that fewer women than men possess top management positions and statistics imply that in Sweden only 24 percent of all board members are women (European Commission, 2008). Gender differences are even more obvious in the private sector and this is the reality facing today’s graduates, regardless of the fact that the number of female and males taking a business degree in Sweden is approximately the same (SCB, 2006). The purpose of this study is to examine if networking can influence women’s career development. Networking and social capital is argued to be a vital tool for career development (Yukl, 2006), and former studies present information that men and women take advantage of their networks rather differently (Burke, Rothstein and Bristor, 1995). However, as the researchers approached the subject, supplementary factors for advancing up the corporate ladder were identified. Theories regarding female leadership, female career progression and the glass ceiling are therefore taken into consideration as vital factors for career development. In order to carry out this study a qualitative approach was chosen, and five business women were interviewed, all considered proficient of the subject. The main conclusion derived from the interviews demonstrates that formal networks were less important than informal networks in order to overcome career obstacles and advance professionally. The networks that were considered most beneficial for the interviewees were the ones that evolved naturally and were reciprocal. Moreover, pure female networks were not considered as valuable as mixed networks since men more often possess access to important information than women. Having a mentor was considered vital at top positions since it provides support and further enhances information sharing. However, the results led to conclude that an additional key success factor for female career development was connected to leadership style; and having a transformational leadership style with transactional characteristics was concluded as most beneficial. Furthermore, the interviewees highlighted the importance of possessing the right personal traits and also to share the responsibilities for home and family life with one’s partner. This study is assumed to be interesting for women in their career with ambitions to reach the top of the corporate ladder. It is also assumed to be interesting for network organisations to use as a benchmark tool.

<p> </p><p>Past research reveals that fewer women than men possess top management positions and statistics imply that in Sweden only 24 percent of all board members are women (European Commission, 2008). Gender differences are even more obvious in the private sector and this is the reality facing today’s graduates, regardless of the fact that the number of female and males taking a business degree in Sweden is approximately the same (SCB, 2006).</p><p>The purpose of this study is to examine if networking can influence women’s career development. Networking and social capital is argued to be a vital tool for career development (Yukl, 2006), and former studies present information that men and women take advantage of their networks rather differently (Burke, Rothstein and Bristor, 1995). However, as the researchers approached the subject, supplementary factors for advancing up the corporate ladder were identified. Theories regarding female leadership, female career progression and the glass ceiling are therefore taken into consideration as vital factors for career development. In order to carry out this study a qualitative approach was chosen, and five business women were interviewed, all considered proficient of the subject.</p><p>The main conclusion derived from the interviews demonstrates that formal networks were less important than informal networks in order to overcome career obstacles and advance professionally. The networks that were considered most beneficial for the interviewees were the ones that evolved naturally and were reciprocal. Moreover, pure female networks were not considered as valuable as mixed networks since men more often possess access to important information than women. Having a mentor was considered vital at top positions since it provides support and further enhances information sharing. However, the results led to conclude that an additional key success factor for female career development was connected to leadership style; and having a transformational leadership style with transactional characteristics was concluded as most beneficial. Furthermore, the interviewees highlighted the importance of possessing the right personal traits and also to share the responsibilities for home and family life with one’s partner.</p><p>This study is assumed to be interesting for women in their career with ambitions to reach the top of the corporate ladder. It is also assumed to be interesting for network organisations to use as a benchmark tool.</p><p> </p>

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A study of the Taiwanese leather tanning industry is the basis of a critical reflection on the anthropological literature surrounding Chinese enterprises and a familistic "Chinese entrepreneurial ethic" which supposedly constrains their growth. Data gathered through historical research and in-depth interviews show that the growth of firms in the industry has not been inhibited by a familistic "entrepreneurial ethic." The structure of the industry has been far more influenced by Taiwan's history of incorporation into the world economy and the policies of modernizing governments, both under Japanese (1895--1945) and GMD rule (1945--present). The establishment of a market-friendly institutional context on Taiwan, including private property rights and contract law, has made it possible for some firms to grow from small family enterprises into relatively large corporations. At the firm level, organization of production into family or corporate firms is less influenced by a Chinese cultural essence than by the degree of capitalization available to firms and the type of product they produce. / The "entrepreneurial ethic" thesis not only fails to account for the empirical reality of the Taiwanese tanning industry. In the Taiwanese context, the discourse on Chinese family firms has political implications in terms of class, gender and nation on Taiwan. First of all, focus on the family has overlooked class- and gender-based inequalities in such enterprises. in chapters five through seven, therefore, this thesis draws attention to the roles of workers and women in the contemporary Taiwanese economy. Secondly, studies. of Taiwanese society as a reflection of Chinese culture neglect controversies within Taiwan about "Taiwanese identity" and national sovereignty. Chapter eight is thus an discussion of the competing nationalist discourses employed by the state and Taiwanese entrepreneurs. In conclusion, it is argued that cultural explanations of economic behavior have political implications which should be rendered transparent in the social scientific literature.