Guest editorial: Empowering women entrepreneurs in the Global South through leadership and management development - Part 1

Empowering women entrepreneurs in the Global South through leadership and management development -Part 1 1.IntroductionWomen entrepreneurs play a critical role in economic development, employment creation, innovation and social transformation across the Global South.In many developing economies, women-owned enterprises contribute significantly to household livelihoods, community development and broader socio-economic progress (Dabi� c et al., 2022;Ojediran and Anderson, 2020).Despite these contributions, women entrepreneurs continue to encounter persistent barriers that limit entrepreneurial participation, venture growth and business sustainability.These barriers frequently include unequal access to finance, gendered social norms, limited access to entrepreneurial networks, institutional constraints and leadership development challenges (Jayachandran, 2021;Tlaiss and Kauser, 2019).Over the past two decades, research on women entrepreneurship has expanded considerably.However, scholars have increasingly argued that much of the dominant entrepreneurship literature remains influenced by theories and assumptions developed within Western contexts, often overlooking the unique institutional, cultural and socio-economic realities of the Global South (Ahl, 2006;Jennings and Brush, 2013;Welter, 2011).Consequently, there is growing recognition of the need for scholarship that foregrounds the experiences, capabilities and contributions of women entrepreneurs operating within diverse and often complex environments.At the same time, leadership and management development have emerged as important yet underexplored dimensions of women entrepreneurship.Beyond venture creation, women entrepreneurs are required to mobilise resources, build organisational capabilities, navigate uncertainty, influence stakeholders and create sustainable value.These activities position leadership development as a critical component of entrepreneurial success (Gupta et al., 2004;Harrison and Leitch, 2005).Furthermore, rapid advances in digital technologies are transforming entrepreneurial opportunities and organisational practices, creating new possibilities for inclusion, innovation, resilience and growth across developing economies (Nambisan, 2017).It is against this backdrop that this Special Issue, Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in the Global South through Leadership and Management Development, was conceived.The objective of the Special Issue is to advance understanding of how women entrepreneurs develop and exercise leadership, respond to institutional and societal challenges, leverage digital opportunities and contribute to entrepreneurial ecosystems within the Global South contexts.This first instalment comprises eleven articles that collectively examine women entrepreneurship through the lenses of leadership development, entrepreneurial ecosystems, digital transformation, organisational resilience, social norms, governance and business performance.The contributions in this SI challenge narrow and deficit-oriented perspectives of women's entrepreneurship.Instead, they highlight women entrepreneurs as active agents of change who continuously adapt to, navigate and shape their entrepreneurial environments.The articles further demonstrate the importance of leadership development, digital capability, ecosystem support and institutional conditions in fostering entrepreneurial resilience and impact across the Global South.The following section provides an overview of the contributions included in this first part of the Special Issue and highlights their collective contribution to women entrepreneurship, leadership and management development scholarship.