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Women perform substantially important functions in the growth of any society despite the sad fact that they are often times overlooked in key social-cultural, political and economic aspects in their respective societies. Entrepreneurship paves the way for women to realize their full potential through empowering them to take control of the different aspects of their lives such as decision-making, ownership of assets, education and many others.
The study sought to assess the role of entrepreneurship in empowering women in Tanzania. The study area selected was Bukoba municipality in Kagera region, and the study used both qualitative and quantitative approach through a case study design that guided the researcher in data collection and analysis. The sample size selected included 100 women entrepreneurs who were provided with questionnaires to be filled in and 5 SIDO officials were interviewed on the factors that influenced women to engage in entrepreneurial venture, the challenges that faced women entrepreneurs, and the ways of improving the conditions of women entrepreneurs. SPSS was used to run correlation analysis where as there was significant relationship between entrepreneurship and the indicators of women empowerment (self-esteem, acceptability of GBV, and self-efficacy), except for control over savings, income, and ownership.
Increasing family level income, covering basic family needs, independent income and social recognition were some of the factors that influenced women to engage in entrepreneurial ventures. Also, the challenges that faced women entrepreneurs included; lack of capital, loans, and entrepreneurial education, poor market access, lack of family support and gender imbalance. Some of the recommendations on how to improve the conditions of women entrepreneurs included; provision of capital and entrepreneurial education, improving business facilities, and fostering gender balance. Some of the recommendations of this study included; creating marketing agencies to assist women in finding markets for their products, representing women in policy forums, and educating women on their rights and entitlements. |
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