Entrepreneurial activities of indigenous African women: A case of Ghana

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the personal profile and entrepreneurial activities of indigenous Ghanaian women and to provide updated research to raise awareness about the significant impact of the indigenous womenrun small to mediumsized enterprises on Africa countries' economies. Design/methodology/approach The study employed a mixed methodology research design where both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Mail surveys were used to collect data from 241 indigenous Ghanaian women and in addition, 20 of these women were purposefully selected and interviewed. Findings Indigenous Ghanaian women were found to exhibit many similarities with their counterparts in other countries in terms of their personality traits. However, they differed in other aspects such as their educational backgrounds and modes of entrepreneurial skills acquisition. Through their entrepreneurial activities the women have made substantial contributions to the economic growth of Ghana in terms of innovation, job creation, and reduction in poverty and unemployment. Research limitations/implications The main limitation is the restricted locale of the sample. The sample however is a reasonably representative of all the ten municipalities and indigenous communities in Ghana, and as a result the findings can be generalized to all indigenous women entrepreneurs in Ghana. Practical implications The paper shows that the indigenous women's small businesses are very important to economic and social development. Indigenous women's entrepreneurship, properly harnessed, has great potential as a tool for transforming African economies. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature due to the scarcity of publications about indigenous women's economic activities in Africa. The paper is useful for policy makers in Africa and researchers wishing to pursue indigenous entrepreneurship and gender studies. © 2008, Emerald Group Publishing Limited