Title: Financial crisis and informal sector women entrepreneurs in Mauritius

Authors: Harshana Kasseeah; Ruben Thoplan; Verena Tandrayen-Ragoobur

Addresses: Department of Economics and Statistics, Faculty of Social Studies and Humanities, University of Mauritius, Reduit, Mauritius ' Department of Economics and Statistics, Faculty of Social Studies and Humanities, University of Mauritius, Reduit, Mauritius ' Department of Economics and Statistics, Faculty of Social Studies and Humanities, University of Mauritius, Reduit, Mauritius

Abstract: This paper examines whether women entrepreneurs operating in the informal sector in the small island economy of Mauritius have been affected by the global financial crisis, an area which is largely under-researched due to data limitations. Survey data of 158 women entrepreneurs operating in the informal sector in Mauritius is used to assess the impact of the financial crisis on their business activities. The principal component analysis is applied and our findings reveal that women entrepreneurs have been affected by the global financial crisis in two ways. The first is that they have been affected through revenue factors, which comprise the following: a fall in demand, a drop in revenue and a decrease in profits. The second way in which women entrepreneurs in the informal sector have been affected is through cost factors associated with a rise in the price of raw materials and a rise in other costs of production.

Keywords: women entrepreneurs; financial crisis; informal sector; business research; Mauritius; female entrepreneurs; gender; entrepreneurship; small island economies.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEBR.2014.064123

International Journal of Economics and Business Research, 2014 Vol.8 No.2, pp.227 - 243

Received: 13 Jun 2013
Accepted: 30 Jul 2013
Published online: 29 Aug 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article