Entrepreneurial skills amidst institutional voids: Insights from female entrepreneurs in West Africa

The question of how entrepreneurs develop entrepreneurial skills and managerial capabilities remains critical for researchers and policymakers, particularly in developing countries, exemplified by the lack of or weak institutions that train individuals wishing to tow the path of entrepreneurship. We use interviews and observation data on female entrepreneurs in two West African developing countries – Ghana and Ivory Coast to theorise where and how these entrepreneurs acquire their entrepreneurial skills and managerial capabilities, given the void in entrepreneurial training institutions. Our findings suggest that entrepreneurs rely on family ties, the informal external context, and some organized external sources to acquire the needed skills to start and run their entrepreneurial initiatives. Further, they develop their entrepreneurial skills through listening to instructions, observing qualified persons, practising, and imitating their mentors. We propose a grounded model that shows the female entrepreneurs’ sources and entrepreneurial and managerial training processes amidst institutional voids in developing countries.