Choices or constraints: decoding financial empowerment among women entrepreneurs in France

TL;DR

This study investigates how empowerment influences women entrepreneurs' access to different types of external finance in France, revealing that personal and relational factors significantly impact funding success and inequalities.

Contribution

It provides the first empirical analysis in France of how empowerment dimensions affect women entrepreneurs' financing access, highlighting the role of personal and relational factors.

Findings

Founder status influences access to external finance differently

Presence of spouse and professional networks affect funding opportunities

Empowerment dynamics vary by financing type

Abstract

This research examines the empowerment of women entrepreneurs in the context of entrepreneurial financing in France. It explores the factors that allow some women entrepreneurs to access certain categories of external finance more easily. The theoretical framework used is based on the concept of empowerment, explored through its personal and relational dimensions. The study relies on a quantitative approach, using data from a representative of women entrepreneurs. The results show that the status of a founder affects access to external finance in different ways: it increases the chances of successful fundraising, but reduces the chances of obtaining bank finance. This finding highlights the importance of empowerment dynamics, which vary according to the type of financing. In addition, characteristics such as the presence of a spouse in the business, high income, membership of a professional network and the diversity of this network complete the analysis of inequalities in access. This study, the first of its kind in France, suggests ways of enriching our understanding of the diversity of situations experienced by female founders, thus helping to deconstruct the homogeneous image of women's entrepreneurship.