i-manager Publications

Practice and Challenges of Women Enterprise Decision Making in Arba Minch City Administration

Fikremariam Girma Obse*

Paramed College, Arba Minch, Ethiopia.

Periodicity:September - December'2025

Abstract

This study was aimed at assessing the practice and challenges of the performance of women involved in facility enterprises. The study aimed to identify the main opportunities available to women entrepreneurs for achieving their goals. Accordingly, they identified lack of workplace, shortage of working capital, shortage of training, lack of credit facility, burden of double responsibility and absence of husband support, and poor education background as major challenges that constrained the performance of women entrepreneurs. The various institutions providing support to women, together with the current constitution, are considered as opportunities for women entrepreneurs in the study area. The study utilized descriptive cross-sectional statistics to analyze quantitative data and content analysis to compute qualitative data. The study recommended various points to address the challenges and to take advantage of the different opportunities available for improving the performance of women entrepreneurs.

Keywords

Challenges, Opportunity, Women Entrepreneurs, Practices, Decision Making.

How to Cite this Article?

Obse, F. G. (2025). Practice and Challenges of Women Enterprise Decision Making in Arba Minch City Administration. i-manager’s Journal on Economics & Commerce, 5(3), 7-25.

References

[1]. Agumas, A. (2019). An Assessment of the Costs and Benefits of Nech Sar National Park on Livelihood of Local People of Arba Minch Town, Gamo Goffa Zone of SNNP Region. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: St. Mary's University.

[2]. Akeredolu-Ale, E. O. (1975). The Underdevelopment of Indigenous Entrepreneurship in Nigeria (Vol. 2). Ibadan University Press, Ibadan.

[3]. Anis, M. Z., & Hasan, M. M. (2013). Woman entrepreneurs of small and medium enterprises in Rajshahi area: Opportunities and challenges. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 3(8), 1-13.

[4]. Arba Minch Town Municipality. (2006). Five Years (1998-2002 EC) Strategic Plan of Arba Minch Town. Arba Minch, unpublished.

[5]. Ashraf, N. (2009). Spousal control and intra-household decision making: An experimental study in the Philippines. American Economic Review, 99(4), 1245-1277.

[6]. Barrett, C. B., Reardon, T., & Webb, P. (2001). Nonfarm income diversification and household livelihood strategies in rural Africa: Concepts, dynamics, and policy implications. Food Policy, 26(4), 315-331.

[7]. Bekele, E., & Worku, Z. (2008). Factors that affect the long-term survival of micro, small and medium enterprises in Ethiopia. South African Journal of Economics, 76(3), 548-568.

[8]. Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2003). Business Research Methods. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

[9]. Cantillon, R. (1755). Essai Sur La Nature Du Commerce En Général. Fetcher Gyler.

[10]. Carter, S. L., & Shaw, E. (2006). Women's Business Ownership: Recent Research and Policy Developments. DTI Small Business Service.

[11]. Central Statistical Authority. (2004). Ethiopian Agricultural Sample Survey. Bulletin.

[12]. Chatterjee, S., Dutta Gupta, S., & Upadhyay, P. (2018) . Empowering women and s t imulating development at bottom of pyramid through micro- entrepreneurship. Management Decision, 56(1), 160-174.

[13]. Cheston, S. (2007). Just the facts, Ma'am: Gender stories from unexpected sources with morals for microfinance. Dialogue, 37, 13-27.

[14]. Coughlin, J. H., & Thomas, A. R. (2002). The rise of women entrepreneurs: People, processes, and global trends. Greenwood Publishing Group, Westsport.

[15]. Davis, B., & Stampini, M. (2002). Pathways Towards Prosperity in Rural Nicaragua: Or Why Households Drop in and Out of Poverty, and Some Policy Suggestions on How to Keep them Out. FAO and Scuola Sant'Anna, Pisa.

[16]. Demeke, M., Guta, F., & Ferede, T. (2006). Towards a More Employment-Intensive and Pro-Poor Economic Growth in Ethiopia: Issues and Policies. International Labour Office.

[17]. Dhameja, S. K. (2002). Women Entrepreneurs: Opportunities, Performance and Problems. Deep and Deep Publications.

[18]. Drucker, P. F. (1964). The big power of little ideas. Harvard Business Review, 42(3), 6.

[19]. Ejigu, A. K., & Yeshitela, K. (2023). Integrating resource oriented sanitation technologies with urban agriculture in developing countries: measuring the governance capacity of Arba Minch City, Ethiopia. Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, 5, 1153502.

[20]. Floro, M. S. (2003). Macroeconomic policies, globalization and gender: Issues and challenges in an era of declining economic security. Gender-from Costs to Benefits (pp. 44-57).

[21]. Grafisk, S. (2000). The Circumstances of Women Entrepreneurs; International Surveys and Research into Female Entrepreneurship. Agency for Trade and Industry Electronic.

[22]. Hagan, K. L., & Steinem, G. (1992). Women Respond to the Men's Movement: A Feminist Collection. Pandora.

[23]. Hagen, E. E. (1962). On the Theory of Social Change: How Economic Growth Begins. Dorsey Press, Homewood.

[24]. Hossain, M. (1988). Credit for Alleviation of Rural Poverty: The Grameen Bank in Bangladesh (Vol. 65). International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington.

[25]. Hulme, D., & Mosley, P. (1996). Finance Against Poverty (Vol. 1). Routledge.

[26]. Hundekar, V. R., & Munshi, M. M. (2020). The economic impact of SHG-BLP on the empowerment of rural women in India. IUP Journal of Bank Management, 19(3), 52.

[27]. ILO. (2007a). Equality at Work: Tackling the Challenges. Global Report Under the Follow-Up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

[28]. ILO. (2007b). Conclusions Concerning the Promotion of Sustainable Enterprises.

[29]. Jalbert, S. E. (2000). Women Entrepreneurs in the Global Economy. Center for International Private Enterprise.

[30]. Jha, K. (1970). Growth of Industrial Entrepreneurship in an Under Developed Region (Doctorial dissertation, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University).

[31]. Jha, K. (1974). Growth of Industrial Entrepreneurship in an Under Developed Region (Unpublished doctoral thesis, Shodhganga).

[32]. Josiane, C. (1998). Gender Issues in Micro- Enterprise Development. ILO Publications.

[33] . Kantor, P. (2000) . Promoting Women' s Entrepreneurship Development based on Good Practice Programmes: Some Experiences from the North to the South. Geneva, International Labour Organisation, Series on Women's Entrepreneurship Development and Gender in Enterprises–WEDGE.

[34]. Kassa, E. T., & Ning, J. (2025). Knowledge Management Practices in the Universities: A Qualitative Inquiry. SAGE Open, 15(3).

[35]. Kirzner, I. M. (1999). Creativity and/or alertness: A reconsideration of the Schumpeterian entrepreneur. The Review of Austrian Economics, 11(1), 5-17.

[36]. Kjeldsen, J. I., & Nielsen, K. T. (2000). The Circumstances of Women Entrepreneurs.

[37]. Klapper, L. F., & Parker, S. C. (2011). Gender and the business environment for new firm creation. The World Bank Research Observer, 26(2), 237-257.

[38]. Klasen, S. (2002). Low schooling for girls, slower growth for all? Cross-country evidence on the effect of gender inequality in education on economic development. The World Bank Economic Review, 16(3), 345-373.

[39]. Knight, F. H. (1965). Risk, Uncertainty and Profit. Ripol Classic.

[40]. Kothari, C. R. (2004). Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques. New Age International.

[41]. Kumar, R., Singh, R. D., & Sharma, K. D. (2005). Water resources of India. Current Science, 794-811.

[42]. Lawson, T., & Tony, D. E. (2010). Really Reorienting Modern Economics. Presented at the INET Conference@ King's College.

[43]. Littlefield, E., Morduch, J., & Hashemi, S. (2003). Is microfinance an effective strategy to reach the Millennium Development Goals. Focus Note, 24(2003), 1- 11.

[44]. Mayoux, L. (2001). Jobs, Gender and Small Enterprises: Getting the Policy Environment Right. International Labour Organization.

[45]. Minniti, M., & Arenius, P. (2003). Women in entrepreneurship. In The Entrepreneurial Advantage of Nations: First Annual Global Entrepreneurship Symposium, 29, 1-28.

[46]. Moore, D. P. (1990). An examination of present research on the female entrepreneur—Suggested research strategies for the 1990's. Journal of Business Ethics, 9(4), 275-281.

[47]. Mulugeta, K. (2014). The Role of Regional Powers in the Field of Peace and Security: The Case of Ethiopia. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.

[48]. Natarajan, C., & Kavitha, M. (2003). Competencies of the women entrepreneurs: A study. Third Concept, 17(201), 36-39.

[49]. Okafor, C., & Mordi, C. (2010). Women Entrepreneurship Development in Nigeria: The Effect of Environmental Factors. Petroleum-Gas University of Ploiesti Bulletin, Economic Sciences Series.

[50]. Otero, M. (1999). Bringing development back, into microfinance. Journal of Microfinance/ESR Review, 1(1), 2.

[51]. Razavi, S. (2012). World development report 2012: Gender equality and development-A commentary. Development and Change, 43(1), 423–437.

[52]. Reynolds, P. D. (2007). Entrepreneurship in the United States: The Future is Now (Vol. 15). Springer Science & Business Media.

[53]. Roomi, M. A., & Parrott, G. (2008). Barriers to development and progression of women entrepreneurs in Pakistan. The Journal of Entrepreneurship, 17(1), 59-72.

[54]. Sandström, C., Wennberg, K., Wallin, M. W., & Zherlygina, Y. (2018). Public policy for academic entrepreneurship initiatives: A review and critical discussion. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 43(5), 1232-1256.

[55]. Schumpeter, J. (1954). Schumpeter. History of Economic Analysis.

[56]. Shepherd, D. A., & Wiklund, J. (2005). Entrepreneurial Small Businesses: A Resource-Based Perspective. Edward Elgar Publishing.

[57]. Sinha, S. (2005). Developing Women Entrepreneurs in South Asia: Issues, Initiatives and Experiences. United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

[58]. Solomon, D. (2010). Desk Review of Studies Conducted on Women Entrepreneurs in Ethiopia. Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations.

[59]. Strohmeyer, R. (2007). Gender Gap and Segregation in Self-Employment: On the Role of Field of Study and Apprenticeship Training. Rat für Sozial- und Wirtschaftsdaten (RatSWD).

[60]. Suganthi, J. (2009). Influence of motivational factors on women entrepreneurs in SMEs. Asia Pacific Business Review, 5(1), 95-104.

[61]. Surti, K., & Sarupria, D. (1983). Psychological factors affecting women entrepreneurs: Some findings. Indian Journal of Social Work, 44 (3), 287-295.

[62]. Tertilt, M., & Doepke, M. (2010). Does Female Empowerment Promote Economic Development? Society for Economic Dynamics.

[63]. Timmons, J. A. (1978). Characteristics and role demands of entrepreneurship. American Journal of Small Business, 3(1), 5-17.

[64]. Toma, T., Alemu, L., & Uncha, A. (2024). Assessing the Contributing Factors and Distributions of Road Traffic Accident in Arba Minch Town, Gamo Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Business and Social Sciences, 7(1), 53-83.

[65]. Udechukwu, F. N. (2003). Survey of Small and Medium Scale Industries and Others Potential in Nigeria: Central Bank of Nigeria Seminar on Small and Medium Industries Equity Scheme (SMIEIS). CBN Training Centre, Lagos.

[66]. UNICEF. (2006). The State of the World's Children 2007: Women and Children — The Double Dividend of Gender Equality. UNICEF.

[67]. United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. (2006). Entrepreneurship and E- Business Development for Women.

[68]. Urga, A. (2017). Impact of Gasha Micro Finance Institution S. Co in the Reduction of Poverty (Doctoral dissertation, St. Mary's University).

[69]. Vesper, K. H. (1990). New Venture Strategies. SSRN.

[70]. Vijayaragavan, T. (2014). Problems and opportunities of women entrepreneurs in India. International Journal of Business and Management Invention, 3(7), 59-61.

[71]. Wennekers, S., & Thurik, R. (1999). Linking entrepreneurship and economic growth. Small Business Economics, 13(1), 27-56.

[72]. World Bank. (2016, July 21). Financing Women Entrepreneurs in Ethiopia: The Women Entrepreneurship Development Project (WEDP). World Bank.

[73]. Yamane, T. (1973). Statistics: An Introductory Analysis. A Harper International.

Practice and Challenges of Women Enterprise Decision Making in Arba Minch City Administration

Abstract

Keywords

How to Cite this Article?

References

If you have access to this article please login to view the article or kindly login to purchase the article

Purchase Instant Access

Options for accessing this content:

	North Americas,UK, Middle East,Europe		India	Rest of world
	USD	EUR	INR	USD-ROW
Pdf	35	35	200	20
Online	15	15	200	15
Pdf & Online	35	35	400	25