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The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Egypt: A Gendered Perspective

This study aims to investigate the Egyptian entrepreneurial ecosystem from a gendered perspective, focusing on women entrepreneurs and experts’ views of the ecosystem and its effect on women entrepreneurs and their ventures. The study uses a qualitative approach incorporating semi-structured intervi...

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Main Author: Khayal, Hanan
Format: Thesis
Published: AUC Knowledge Fountain 2021
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access_status_str Open Access
author Khayal, Hanan
author_browse Khayal, Hanan
author_facet Khayal, Hanan
author_sort Khayal, Hanan
collection Thesis
description This study aims to investigate the Egyptian entrepreneurial ecosystem from a gendered perspective, focusing on women entrepreneurs and experts’ views of the ecosystem and its effect on women entrepreneurs and their ventures. The study uses a qualitative approach incorporating semi-structured interviews with fourteen women entrepreneurs and experts with long experience in the field of entrepreneurship. The analysis shows that the pillars of the ecosystem namely policy, culture, finance, education and training, and networking have impactful influences on women entrepreneurs in Egypt, affecting their entrepreneurial journey across the different levels of venturing. Women entrepreneurs are at a disadvantage within the ecosystem due to the high prevalence of gendered stereotypes and prejudices surrounding them, lack of coordination among the players within the ecosystem, scarcity of information on available resources, and lack of understanding of the significance of women entrepreneurship and its benefits to the economic and social conditions of the country at large. The study highlights the paradox between an increasing number of available resources and services to entrepreneurs and the low number of women-owned businesses established and enhanced after receiving these services. Findings showed that these services lack quality and depth, and are not accommodating to women entrepreneurs’ needs. Ultimately, the study concluded that women need more support within the ecosystem, where they are provided with the same range of opportunities and benefits, and allowed a fair business journey on par with their male counterparts. The study contributes to the available literature on women entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurship ecosystem alike, where it highlighted the main challenges and shortcomings of the ecosystem’s pillars. It explains how it impacted women entrepreneurs’ journeys and ventures and allows for recommendations that would create a healthier and more inclusive ecosystem for women entrepreneurs.
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institution American University in Cairo (Egypt)
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:35:50.652Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress
publishDate 2021
publishDateRange 2021
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spelling oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-2614 The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Egypt: A Gendered Perspective Khayal, Hanan This study aims to investigate the Egyptian entrepreneurial ecosystem from a gendered perspective, focusing on women entrepreneurs and experts’ views of the ecosystem and its effect on women entrepreneurs and their ventures. The study uses a qualitative approach incorporating semi-structured interviews with fourteen women entrepreneurs and experts with long experience in the field of entrepreneurship. The analysis shows that the pillars of the ecosystem namely policy, culture, finance, education and training, and networking have impactful influences on women entrepreneurs in Egypt, affecting their entrepreneurial journey across the different levels of venturing. Women entrepreneurs are at a disadvantage within the ecosystem due to the high prevalence of gendered stereotypes and prejudices surrounding them, lack of coordination among the players within the ecosystem, scarcity of information on available resources, and lack of understanding of the significance of women entrepreneurship and its benefits to the economic and social conditions of the country at large. The study highlights the paradox between an increasing number of available resources and services to entrepreneurs and the low number of women-owned businesses established and enhanced after receiving these services. Findings showed that these services lack quality and depth, and are not accommodating to women entrepreneurs’ needs. Ultimately, the study concluded that women need more support within the ecosystem, where they are provided with the same range of opportunities and benefits, and allowed a fair business journey on par with their male counterparts. The study contributes to the available literature on women entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurship ecosystem alike, where it highlighted the main challenges and shortcomings of the ecosystem’s pillars. It explains how it impacted women entrepreneurs’ journeys and ventures and allows for recommendations that would create a healthier and more inclusive ecosystem for women entrepreneurs. 2021-06-15T07:00:00Z thesis application/pdf https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/1590 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/2614/viewcontent/Hanan_Khayal_Thesis.pdf Theses and Dissertations AUC Knowledge Fountain Women Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Entrepreneurship in Egypt Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Public Administration
spellingShingle Women Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
Entrepreneurship in Egypt
Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration
Public Administration
Khayal, Hanan
The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Egypt: A Gendered Perspective
title The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Egypt: A Gendered Perspective
title_full The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Egypt: A Gendered Perspective
title_fullStr The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Egypt: A Gendered Perspective
title_full_unstemmed The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Egypt: A Gendered Perspective
title_short The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Egypt: A Gendered Perspective
title_sort entrepreneurial ecosystem in egypt a gendered perspective
topic Women Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
Entrepreneurship in Egypt
Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration
Public Administration
url https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/1590
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/2614/viewcontent/Hanan_Khayal_Thesis.pdf
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