Women entrepreneurs and sustainable development: Promoting business performance from the low-income groups

Starting a small business demands diligence, sound business acumen, and the ability to adapt to market dynamics. The study examines the direct effect of governmental support, subjective norms, personality, entrepreneurship education, and entrepreneurship mindset on the performance of female entrepreneurs in micro-businesses from low-income groups (B40). The study also examines the mediation effect of the entrepreneurship mindset as an enabler that provides the motivation and energy for entrepreneurs to develop a thriving business. The study provides the latest insights by delivering the analysis from the three broad analysis levels: micro, meso, and macro, and by examining the enablers from individual, societal, and institutional perspectives. The study adopts a cross-sectional survey, and the instrument was administered to 237 respondents in the cities of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, who were purposively selected. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling, revealing that the entrepreneurship mindset becomes a mediator variable in the relationship between governmental support, subjective norms, personality, entrepreneurship education, and business performance.