Investigating the Role of Women Entrepreneurship in Contributing to Economic Development in Kabwe, Rural Zambia
Mwansa, Charles Mwila (2025)
2025
All rights reserved. This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025072923723
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025072923723
Tiivistelmä
This research explores how women-led entrepreneurship supports economic development in rural Kabwe, Zambia. It specifically examines how skill acquisition, financial access, and empowerment relate to improvements in household income, job creation, and community well-being. Although global and national efforts aim to enhance gender-inclusive growth, rural women still face systematic challenges such as limited training, restricted financing, and ingrained inequalities that hinder their entrepreneurial success.
The study applies a theoretical framework that integrates Empowerment Theory (Kabeer, 1999), Human Capital Theory (Becker, 1964), and Gender and Development Theory (Elson, 2017). A mixed methods design was used to collect both statistical and narrative data. Structured questionnaires were distributed to 150 women entrepreneurs, and in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with 15 selected participants. SPSS and ATLAS.ti were used for the quantitative and qualitative analysis, respectively.
Findings revealed that skills acquisition, access to finance, and empowerment each had a statistically significant and positive relationship with economic development. Of the three, skills acquisition was the strongest predictor, followed by access to finance and empowerment. Qualitative data supported these results, emphasizing the importance of informal learning, savings group participation, and greater decision-making autonomy. Barriers such as restricted credit access and patriarchal norms were also identified.
The research concludes that when supported by training, finance, and empowerment initiatives, women entrepreneurs can play a significant role in local economic development. It recommends scaling up training programs, expanding access to microfinance, and tackling social norms that limit women´s agency. Further studies should investigate the long-term effects and potential of digital inclusion models.
The study applies a theoretical framework that integrates Empowerment Theory (Kabeer, 1999), Human Capital Theory (Becker, 1964), and Gender and Development Theory (Elson, 2017). A mixed methods design was used to collect both statistical and narrative data. Structured questionnaires were distributed to 150 women entrepreneurs, and in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with 15 selected participants. SPSS and ATLAS.ti were used for the quantitative and qualitative analysis, respectively.
Findings revealed that skills acquisition, access to finance, and empowerment each had a statistically significant and positive relationship with economic development. Of the three, skills acquisition was the strongest predictor, followed by access to finance and empowerment. Qualitative data supported these results, emphasizing the importance of informal learning, savings group participation, and greater decision-making autonomy. Barriers such as restricted credit access and patriarchal norms were also identified.
The research concludes that when supported by training, finance, and empowerment initiatives, women entrepreneurs can play a significant role in local economic development. It recommends scaling up training programs, expanding access to microfinance, and tackling social norms that limit women´s agency. Further studies should investigate the long-term effects and potential of digital inclusion models.