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RESEARCHFEMALE ENTREPRENEURSHIP INDAKAR, SENEGAL:Factors, Pathways, and ObstaclesKatherine NorthcottDEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICSPROGRAM OF AFRICAN STUDIESHilarie LiebFACULTY ADVISORDEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICSUsing a combination of quantitative surveys and personalinterviews, I explored whether certain social, gender-specific, orpolitical issues affect the successful creation and maintenanceof female-owned businesses in Dakar, Senegal. After analyzingthe collected data, I found that the majority women weremarried, highly educated, and more likely to start businesseslater in life and in sectors that are typically female-dominated.From a political standpoint, even though there were severalgovernment initiatives designed to encourage femaleentrepreneurship in the country, the women I interviewed statedthat finding financial support was the most overwhelmingobstacle they encountered when starting their businesses. Iconcluded that more steps need to be taken to ensure thatwomen are able to gain access to the funds that have beencreated for them.Female economic empowerment in the developingworld has been proclaimed as a universal necessityfor the developing economies; the UN included theempowerment of girls and women as their third MillenniumDevelopment Goal, which lists the eight necessaryfactors the developing world must overcome in order tocombat poverty. 1 Various reasons have been offered toexplain the lack of female participation in the workforcein the developing world, including the role of patriarchyand social inequality. However, female entrepreneurshipin the formal, government-regulated sector andinformal, unregulated sector has started to make animpression on the global economy and developmentfocusedeconomic research has started to explore itsgrowth. Over a two month period in the summer of2010, I conducted a research project in Dakar, Senegal,looking at formal female entrepreneurs. My goal in thisresearch project was to meet and interview female, andmale, entrepreneurs in Dakar, and gather demographicinformation about these entrepreneurs. I hoped to identifycertain common characteristics that helped womenbecome entrepreneurs, and understand whether thesequalities differ from men’s. I also wanted to get a senseof the social and political atmosphere surrounding theentrepreneurial experiences of these women. In otherwords, how do women in developing countries succeedat starting their own businesses and what obstacles dothey encounter? While my sample size was small, only13 women and 2 men, I had a good introduction to howfemale entrepreneurs in Dakar succeed, as well as directexperience of where women work and how they financethemselves.DemographicsThe demographics of my sample show that mostof the entrepreneurs are late-middle aged, started thebusiness later in life, and are highly educated. The followingtable summarizes the key demographics frommy research:Table 1. DemographicsDemographics Mean MedianAge 51.8667 52Years Living in Dakar 43.0667 50Years of Education 16.333 16Years of Work Experience 19.846 21Years Business has Operated 9.4667 10Number of Employees 23.7333 1048 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL