Entrepreneurial Ecosystem and Female Entrepreneurial Growth: Thematic Analysis

This study evaluates the influence of the entrepreneurial ecosystem on female entrepreneurial growth. Female entrepreneurs face restricted access to finance, growth-oriented capital, venture capital, and business angel funding. These impede the ability of female entrepreneurs to scale up and innovate. The thematic analysis methodology involving the use of juried textual data, from scientific literature was applied to analyze the entrepreneurial ecosystem and female entrepreneurial growth. Findings were extracted using the qualitative analysis of both theoretical and empirical literature in line with the main objectives of this study. The research revealed that female entrepreneurial outcomes are not exclusively based on individual traits. Instead, female entrepreneurial growth reflects the nature of its entrepreneurial ecosystems as it relates to institutional logic and structure, governance, financial networks, dominant values, and social capital within entrepreneurial ecosystems. The entrepreneurial ecosystem is structured and operates in a manner that logically constrains female entrepreneurial growth opportunities. The study recommends that financial institutions within the entrepreneurial ecosystem should deliberately tailor themselves appropriately with the necessary financial tools to assist in the growth of female entrepreneurs. Loan-based financing, blended finance instruments, and co-finance schemes should be readily available for the stable growth of female enterprises