Gender, Social Networks, and Entrepreneurship in Ghana

This article reports the results of an exploratory study on gender-based differences in the motives underlying entrepreneurial activities in Ghana, the barriers and opportunities that the operational environment presents, and the manner in which entrepreneurs leverage resources. The evidence suggests that female entrepreneurs tend to have more difficulties in accessing bank financing but they compensate by cultivating social relationships and using the social capital derived from them as a resource leveraging mechanism. Women also tend to depend more on their social relationships for moral and emotional support during the initial stages of their enterprise development. No other substantial gender-based differences have been noted.