Deconstructing the Binding Constraints on Women’s Entrepreneurial Success in Accra Municipalities

Abstract

This article examined the multifaceted challenges that constrain women’s entrepreneurial success in the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, the Ablekuma South Municipal, and the Ga South Municipalities of Ghana’s Greater Accra Region. Drawing on empirical data from a mixed-methods study of 378 women entrepreneurs, six credit officers, and five district assembly staff, we identify four interconnected categories of constraints: intra-household resource dynamics, financial system exclusion, infrastructural and market barriers, and socio-cultural impediments. The analysis challenges simplistic narratives of individual capacity deficits, arguing instead that women’s entrepreneurial trajectories are profoundly shaped by structural inequities embedded within households, financial institutions, and the physical environment. Key findings reveal that while 85% of women entrepreneurs possess post-secondary education, fewer than 20% have accessed formal credit, and only 7.1% have benefited from institutional infrastructure support. Logistic regression analysis demonstrates that entrepreneurial training significantly predicts business longevity (p < 0.05) when age and education are controlled, yet such training remains systematically unavailable to most women. We conclude with actionable recommendations for policy and practice that move beyond access-focused interventions toward strategies that systematically dismantle systemic barriers through gender-responsive procurement, lifecycle-sensitive training programmes, and institutional reforms that recognize women entrepreneurs as central agents of inclusive development.