Female entrepreneurship and growth in Cameroon

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to supplement the literature on the effect of female entrepreneurship on economic growth by bringing new evidence for the case of SMEs owned by women in Cameroon.

Design/methodology/approach

Effects of female entrepreneurship on Cameroonian economic growth are analyzed through a simple statistical analysis.

Findings

Our results reveal that there is a growing female entrepreneurship in Cameroon, localized in many different sectors of activity. Moreover, these SMEs are opportunity entrepreneurship which contributes to economic growth by considerably reducing unemployment particularly for women, generating revenues for government and enhancing human capital skills.

Research limitations/implications

The study suggests an investment in SMEs owned by women and an investment in education and skills of those women in order to positively affect economic growth.

Originality/value

Many studies have focussed their attention on the relationship between SMEs and economic growth, but few attempted to evaluate the theoretical assumptions in case studies and in a gender perspective.

Citation

Okah-Efogo, F. and Timba, G.T. (2015), "Female entrepreneurship and growth in Cameroon", African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 107-119. https://doi.org/10.1108/AJEMS-10-2012-0067