Entrepreneurial Careers of Women in Zimbabwe

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to investigate the development of women entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe. The study also sought to gain an understanding as to why women in Zimbabwe chose self-employment and how local enterprise programs should be designed to benefit them. The study identified the mechanisms and processes that women have used to develop skills and acquire work. It also evaluated the issues most relevant to policies that could support the careers of women entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe. A life-course approach to women's careers in Zimbabwe was selected to examine entrepreneurship. Careers of women entrepreneurs were complex, therefore, this holistic approach captured the more salient features. Accumulating various forms of economic, social, and cultural capital facilitated the development of entrepreneurial careers. Women's agency was critical to overcoming social and economic subjugation in the colonial and post-colonial states. Entrepreneurial outcomes included a gain in capital, acquisition, and construction of skills and power. In addition, women entrepreneurs became increasingly visible as they developed more power within society. Further, technology played an important role in the development of enterprises.