Shattering the second glass ceiling: an empirical study on women entrepreneurs in Egypt

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze women's entrepreneurship in Egypt by examining their drivers, motives and challenges while applying a gender-lens perspective. This research tries to close the gaps in previous research and determine the impact of systematic gendered policies in empowering women's entrepreneurship and in return, aid in the overall economic growth and development nation-wide. This paper addresses one main question: How can the Egyptian government empower women entrepreneurs through key policy interventions?Design/methodology/approachThe research paper is based on quantitative methodology using three sets of the latest data available from Egypt's Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report for 2019 and 2018, in addition to the Egyptian Labor Market Panel Survey of 2018. It examines the probability for women to become entrepreneurs in Egypt's current ecosystem. This allowed for a better contextualization and understanding of the nature of developing Egyptian female-led entrepreneurial ventures.FindingsThe findings of this research emphasized the importance of the existence of policies for training, networking and educational programs tailored for women. In addition to, the unique needs for women entrepreneurs when it comes to funding and applying for loans. Such needs can determine the amounts of funding given out to women, while setting out a repayment policy that is well-designed for women entrepreneurs, ensuing a further discussion of the policies and their implications.Originality/valueThis paper uses and incorporates a variety of data sets that are very focused and specialized in the Egyptian context. Through which the paper aims to inform and analyze the current environment, challenges and opportunities that women entrepreneurs are operating – in Egypt. In addition, this paper provides a set of actionable policy recommendations to strengthen the government's role in empowering women entrepreneurs in Egypt.