Gender-Based Entrepreneurial Access to Bank Credit: Myth or Reality (original) (raw)

2021, The International Journal of Business & Management

Gender-Based Entrepreneurial Access to Bank Credit: Myth or Reality 1. Introduction Gender investigative research in entrepreneurship has gained increased interest as it helps educators and policymakers to improve the participation of females in the entrepreneurial process (Malmstrom, Johansson & Wincent, 2017). In a market economy, the availability of and accessibility to finance is a major factor in the creative development and survival of any firm (Andrés, Gimeno, & Cabo, 2019). The term entrepreneurship is directly linked to those people who generate or seize opportunities and, from this, develop an organized economic activity, creating value for themselves and society (Carreira et al., 2015). Literature generally indicates entrepreneurship is a male-denominated field (Muntean & Ozkazanc-Pan, 2015). Entrepreneurship is an important pathway for boosting women's economic participation. It offers opportunities for self-employment but can also help meet another global challenge requiring concerted solutions: job creation in the wider economy (World Bank, 2018). Women's entrepreneurship activity rates are greater than men's in only a small number of countries around the world, including Madagascar,