Virtual Windows Through Glass Walls? Digitalization for Low-Mobility Female Entrepreneurs
Social norms and childcare responsibilities often constrain women's mobility and work. This paper investigates the promise of digitalization in unlocking the growth of home-based businesses, an economic lifeline for women in developing countries. To do so, Jordanian female entrepreneurs were offered access to virtual storefronts through Facebook business pages, as well as access to an online digital marketing training created in collaboration with local social media influencers. After six months of hands-on support, treated women had higher business survival, weekly revenue, and attracted more online clients. Machine learning heterogeneity analysis reveals that higher business performance and limitations on the owner's ability to leave her house at baseline are particularly predictive of effects. Together, results suggest that when constraints to technology adoption are lifted, digitalization can unlock windows of opportunity to talented female entrepreneurs, especially those mobility-constrained among them.
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| Format: | Working Paper biblioteca |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
Washington, DC: World Bank
2024-06-14
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| Subjects: | BUSINESS TRAINING AND OUTSOURCING, FIRM GROWTH, FEMALE ENTREPRENEURSHIP, DIGITAL MARKETING, GENDER EQUALITY, SDG 5, DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH, SDG 8, |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099347306132442378/IDU13eb13acf14061148ec1a6df1a4686e5627fd https://hdl.handle.net/10986/41718 |
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| Summary: | Social norms and childcare
responsibilities often constrain women's mobility and
work. This paper investigates the promise of digitalization
in unlocking the growth of home-based businesses, an
economic lifeline for women in developing countries. To do
so, Jordanian female entrepreneurs were offered access to
virtual storefronts through Facebook business pages, as well
as access to an online digital marketing training created in
collaboration with local social media influencers. After six
months of hands-on support, treated women had higher
business survival, weekly revenue, and attracted more online
clients. Machine learning heterogeneity analysis reveals
that higher business performance and limitations on the
owner's ability to leave her house at baseline are
particularly predictive of effects. Together, results
suggest that when constraints to technology adoption are
lifted, digitalization can unlock windows of opportunity to
talented female entrepreneurs, especially those
mobility-constrained among them. |
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