Empowering women’s entrepreneurship: an evidence synthesis of policy and practice in developing countries

Abstract

Evaluations of microfinance and business training programmes that intend to stimulate women’s entrepreneurship, empowerment, and poverty alleviation report a mixed impact, yet theoretical explanations for this conundrum are missing from existing literature. To better understand the various impacts of these specific types of policy intervention, this paper uses a realist synthesis of evaluation evidence to analyse how these programmes work. Guided by an entrepreneurial capital framework, our results highlight that initial programme capital alone (either financial or human) is rarely enough to generate sustained positive impact. Rather, we found that programmes with specific features which facilitate the conversion of economic, human, social, and symbolic capital are key to local economic and social empowerment. Our results highlight five mechanisms which facilitate capital conversion (self-development, collective agency, structuring, resource exchange, psychological membership) and two barriers which restrict it (power relations, resource dispersion). Overall, we contribute to a deeper understanding of women’s empowerment through the design and delivery of women’s enterprise policy programmes.

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