Preliminary investigation of Yemeni women entrepreneurs: some challenges for development and barriers to success

Abstract

This study aims to examine the role of women business owners in Yemen. It establishes the factors that motivate Yemeni women to establish their business venture, opportunities for growth, and discusses challenges and barriers to becoming successful entrepreneurs. Qualitative research approach is adopted via personal in-depth interviews with Yemeni women entrepreneurs in various businesses. Findings from the study reveal that there are several reasons driving Yemeni women to become entrepreneurs, including the desire to be independent, improve the standard of living, source of income to support family, and gaining control over personal life. The study also highlights several problems and barriers to success for these women entrepreneurs. The overall findings from the study suggest that Yemeni women entrepreneurs have strong entrepreneurial competence but lack the ability, and receive no continuous training and support service to develop their entrepreneurial skills to their full potential. Suggestions concerning how women entrepreneurs in Yemen might be encouraged and questions for future research are presented.