The female entrepreneurship researchers community has to thank these women for their brilliant work in reviewing, revising and selecting the best papers from the second Diana International Conference that were finally edited for this volume. . . the book is a good compendium of female entrepreneurship circumstances in different countries that focuses specifically on the explanation as to why gender plays a role in the number of ventures started by women and why they are in general smaller and less growth-oriented. Manuela Pardo-del-Val, International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal . . . this edited text draws upon a range of international contributors to present a comparative overview of challenges facing female entrepreneurs seeking to grow their firms. . . this is an interesting book that makes a welcome contribution to contemporary debate. Susan Marlow, International Small Business Journal The data and information presented in this work will be of particular interest to students and scholars of entrepreneurship or labor and women s studies. Recommended. General readers; upper-division undergraduate through professional collections. E.P. Hoffman, Choice Enterprising new firms drive economic growth, and women around the world are important contributors to that growth. As entrepreneurs, they seize opportunities, develop and deliver new goods and services and, in the process, create wealth for themselves, their families, communities, and countries. This volume explores the role women entrepreneurs play in this economic progress, highlighting the challenges they encounter in launching and growing their businesses, and providing detailed studies of how their experiences vary from country to country. Statistics show that businesses owned by women tend to remain smaller than those owned by men, whether measured by the number of employees or by the size of revenues. Because women-led firms fail to grow as robustly, the opportunities to innovate and expand are limited, as are the rewards. Based on recent studies that examine the links between entrepreneurial supply and demand issues, this volume provides insights into how women around the world are addressing the challenges of entrepreneurial growth. The first set of chapters consists of country overviews and provides discussions of the state of women growing businesses. The second set of chapters describes research projects under way in different countries and explores more focused topics under the umbrella of women business owners and business growth. The volume concludes with an agenda and projects for future research. Academics and policymakers will gain a greater understanding of women s entrepreneurial behaviors and outcomes through this path-breaking volume. Those who support women through education and training, policymaking, or providing entrepreneurial resources will also find the volume of great practical interest.

This collection brings together leading scholars and practitioners with a variety of interests as related to women entrepreneurs. Taking a unique scholarly-practice approach, Crittenden builds an enticing story around several key variables that influence go-to-market strategies for women entrepreneurs.

Covers the background information to the ILO-African Development Bank country-level studies on the subject and presents the findings and recommendations resulting from the application of the analytical integrated framework in the three countries.

The African Development Bank's (AfDB) Addis Ababa Forum in June 2003 focused on the role of women entrepreneurs in private sector development, poverty reduction, and sustainable growth and development. It provided an opportunity for the AfDB and the International Labour Office (ILO) to join forces using their complementary expertise in support of women-owned businesses in Tanzania, Ethiopia and Zambia. This report is based on the country assessment for Ethiopia, where the ILO has been researching and supporting women's entrepreneurship. Examining such issues as the economic context, micro-fina.

Women's entrepreneurship research and the understanding of factors influencing the growth of women-owned business advanced significantly over the last decade. Yet, challenges remain. Women Entrepreneurs and the Global Environment for Growth provides wide-ranging insights on the challenges women entrepreneurs face growing their businesses and how these may be addressed. This volume is rooted in research and considers growth challenges both contextually and firm specific, provoking current thought and enriching the current literature on gender and entrepreneurship. Part one highlights how contextual factors, and especially social and familial settings of entrepreneurs, have a differential impact on men and women. Part two examines strategies, constraints and enablers of growth and performance. The authors aptly demonstrate that a well-focused gender lens is necessary to better explain the phenomenon of women's entrepreneurship. Extending previous studies about women's entrepreneurship, this volume is unique in its application of research from the Diana Project, a path breaking initiative dating from 1999 to study female entrepreneurial success. Contributions from an international cast of authors make this a comprehensive and broadly appealing reference work.

The African Development Bank's (AfDB) Addis Ababa Forum in June 2003 focused on the role of women entrepreneurs in private sector development, poverty reduction, and sustainable growth and development. It provided an opportunity for the AfDB and the International Labour Office (ILO) to join forces using their complementary expertise in support of women-owned businesses in Tanzania, Ethiopia and Zambia. This report is based on the country assessment for Kenya, where the ILO has been researching and supporting women's entrepreneurship. Examining such issues as the economic context, micro-finance.