The development of female entrepreneurship in Malta : a public policy perspective

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is perceived as the engine that drives economic growth globally, particularly in the European Union (EU). In recent years, the EU has increased its focus on entrepreneurship, encouraging more people to start their own businesses, placing particular emphasis on women. Despite these initiatives the level of female entrepreneurship in Europe is still low, especially in Malta, and there has been a rise in demand for promoting entrepreneurial activity among women in Malta. Taking this statement as a point of inquiry, this dissertation sets out to explore the current policy initiatives and processes offered in the public sector, and factors within the entrepreneurial ecosystem that affect the development of female entrepreneurship in Malta. Once these policies were evaluated, further research was conducted to analyse how these policies can improve female entrepreneurship, to encourage start-ups in Malta. The structure for this research adopts a qualitative multi-method deductive approach, to test the theory of whether policy actions foster female entrepreneurship in Malta. Data is gathered from an analysis of eight policy documents with a national and horizontal focus, including budget speeches and documents, and from 11 semi-structured interviews (stakeholders and women entrepreneurs). This data was thematically analysed in light of Isenberg’s (2011) theoretical framework on entrepreneurship. The emerging insights of the interviewees support the theory being tested through the findings, therefore allowing the researcher to apply the framework to the local context addressing female entrepreneurs. This permeates through various factors in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, including human capital, supports and finance to be ones most likely to have an impact on the development of female entrepreneurship in Malta. This study concludes that while the findings provide a better understanding of potential constraints faced by women in Malta, they suggest several policy recommendations listed under other factors including culture, markets and governance to encourage potential future research and policy development to foster female entrepreneurship in Malta.