Challenges Faced By Women Entrepreneurs in Somalia: A Case Study in Mogadishu

Women entrepreneurship plays a significant role in economic development, poverty reduction, employment creation, and household livelihood improvement. Despite the increasing involvement of women in business activities, women entrepreneurs in Somalia continue to face various challenges that limit their ability to establish, manage, and expand successful enterprises. This study examined the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in Somalia, focusing on limited access to finance, limited access to markets, cultural and social barriers, work-family balance challenges, lack of business training and entrepreneurial skills, and limited government support. The study aimed to assess the effect of these challenges on women entrepreneurs’ success in Mogadishu, Somalia. The study adopted a descriptive and cross-sectional survey research design. The target population consisted of women entrepreneurs operating small and medium enterprises in Mogadishu, and a sample size of 80 respondents was selected using stratified and simple random sampling techniques. Data was collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS version 23. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, and regression analysis were applied to examine relationships among variables. The findings revealed that limited access to finance was the most significant challenge affecting women entrepreneurs with (M=5.30, SD=1.80). Correlation results showed significant relationships between challenges and women entrepreneurs’ success, where cultural and social barriers (r=.960, p=.000) and limited access to market (r=.959, p=.000) had the strongest relationships. The regression results indicated that success factors significantly predict women entrepreneurs’ performance with (R²=.761, F=248.160, p=.000). The study concludes that reducing financial barriers, improving market opportunities, strengthening entrepreneurship training, and enhancing government support are essential for improving the growth and sustainability of women-owned businesses in Somalia.

Women Entrepreneurship, Business Challenges, Financial Access, Entrepreneurial Skills

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