Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate challenges faced by and opportunities open to women entrepreneurs in Botswana and how entrepreneurship education can boost their knowledge and skills of doing business profitably and contribute to women empowerment.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 400 women entrepreneurs of different ages, educational levels and from trades and different geographical locations were selected using a stratified random sampling procedure to participate in the study from ten towns and cities in the country. A structured questionnaire that used a five-point Likert scale was used for data collection. One-way ANOVA, regression analysis and descriptive statistics were used as tools for data analysis.

Findings

Findings showed that women entrepreneurs faced a complex web of challenges among which were access to finance, lack of training leading to lack of technical skills, lack of knowledge of sources of financing and technical support, high competition in the market, marginalisation of women and lack of knowledge of marketing strategies. The key findings were that while women entrepreneurs faced a number of challenges, the legal and regulatory environment in Botswana was highly conducive and supportive of women entrepreneurship and also that customised entrepreneurship education and training offered opportunities for women entrepreneurs to enhance their knowledge and technical skills.

Research limitations/implications

The study only used a quantitative approach to collect data. It could have perhaps been more enriching if a mixed-methods approach were used to help probe the participants more. The study also only used women entrepreneurs in cities and towns. Perhaps, it could have also got some women entrepreneurs from rural areas to hear what they say. These limitations will be addressed in future studies.

Practical implications

Practical implications of the study are that women entrepreneurs need more training in business entrepreneurship for them to gain more knowledge and skills; finance houses become more accommodating to women entrepreneurship they could help in the empowerment of these people as they show potential in their businesses; and if more pro-women entrepreneurship policies are developed, they could enhance the activities of women entrepreneurs.

Social implications

Women can perform as much as men in business if given the necessary support.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the body of knowledge on women entrepreneurship as it helped expose challenges women entrepreneurs face as well as opportunities for them to take advantage of and improve their business operations.

中文翻译：

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博茨瓦纳女企业家的挑战和机遇：重新探讨企业家精神教育的作用

目的

本文的目的是调查博茨瓦纳女企业家所面临的挑战和机遇，以及企业家精神教育如何提高他们的经商知识和技能，以有利可图的方式开展业务，并有助于增强妇女权能。

设计/方法/方法

通过分层随机抽样程序，总共选择了400名年龄，文化程度不同，行业和地理位置不同的女企业家，参加了来自该国10个城镇的研究。使用五点李克特量表的结构化问卷用于数据收集。单向方差分析，回归分析和描述性统计用作数据分析工具。

发现

调查结果表明，女企业家面临着一系列复杂的挑战，其中包括获得融资，缺乏培训导致缺乏技术技能，缺乏对融资和技术支持来源的知识，市场竞争激烈，妇女处于边缘地位和缺乏挑战。营销策略知识。关键发现是，尽管女企业家面临许多挑战，但博茨瓦纳的法律和法规环境高度有利于女企业家，并为女企业家提供了个性化的教育和培训，为女企业家提供了增强其知识和技术技能的机会。

研究局限/意义

该研究仅使用定量方法来收集数据。如果使用混合方法来帮助更多地探究参与者，则可能会更加丰富。该研究还只使用了城镇女性企业家。也许，它也可能使一些农村地区的女企业家听到他们的话。这些限制将在以后的研究中解决。

实际影响

该研究的实际意义是，女企业家需要更多的商业创业培训，以使她们获得更多的知识和技能。金融机构越来越适应女企业家的身份，她们可以在这些人展现自己业务潜力的同时，帮助赋予这些人权力；如果制定更多的有利于妇女的创业政策，它们可以加强女性企业家的活动。

社会影响

如果得到必要的支持，女性在商业上的表现可以与男性一样多。

创意/价值

这项研究有助于揭示有关女性企业家精神的知识体系，因为它有助于揭示女性企业家所面临的挑战以及她们利用并改善其业务运作的机会。