Factors Affecting Female Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Small to medium sized female enterprises are important for the global economy because they generate new jobs and the reduction of the female unemployment rate in the community. This may lead to an economic growth. The purpose of this study is to find the factors that affect the female entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia which is measured by two measurements the number of newly registered companies in addition to the total female entrepreneurial activity and how these measurements are affected by factors such as the Women Business and the Law Index Score (scale 1-100) in Saudi Arabia, the start-up procedures to register a business for a female, the total female population and the cost of business start-up in percentage of the gross national income for a female. The study data for Saudi Arabian market was gathered from the databases of the World Bank Organization and the Global Entrepreneurial Monitor. The type of sample gathered is time series starting from 2006 – 2019 with total frequency of 14 observations. The study has developed two ARDL models of which one equation determines the factors that affect the number of newly registered companies and the second equation examines the factors that have an impact on the total female entrepreneurial activity. This research finds that the level of woman business activity and the law index score have positive impact on female entrepreneurship.