Rethinking women in survival entrepreneurship and wellbeing in Kenya

The interplay between entrepreneurship, regional development and culture creates different experiences for female entrepreneurs. Past research critically analyzes and acknowledges the role of entrepreneurship in enhancing gender empowerment, reduction of unemployment rates and the mitigation of extreme poverty in different societies. Furthermore, it acknowledges the existence of gender disparity, which varies across context and time. In Kenya, the entrepreneurship narrative highlights its role in unemployment reduction and income generation. Women empowerment has emerged as a major benefit of female entrepreneurship in Kenya (ADB, 2016). Historically, Kenyan women play a significant role in their households. The discourse on the gains of entrepreneurship is however silent about the implications of combining these roles on the overall well-being of female entrepreneurs. Of particular interest, is how their entrepreneurial experiences, contribute to their quality of life, overall physical, psycho-social and economic wellbeing. This chapter provides a theoretical overview of female entrepreneurship in Kenya that advocates for a focus on the physical, psychosocial and economic wellbeing of female entrepreneurs as an important aspect in assessing the overall success of entrepreneurial initiatives. This overview provides a framework that gives a matrix for contextual and holistic wellbeing of female entrepreneurs in Kenya.