Entrepreneurship as a Route out of Poverty A Focus on Women and Minority Ethnic Groups

This book examines how entrepreneurship can be used as a tool to escape poverty. With relevance for both SDG 1: ‘No Poverty,’ and SDG 8: ‘Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all,’ it pays special attention to women and minority ethnic groups. Offering a fresh perspective on entrepreneurship as a means of upward social mobility and rooted in research, the book explores the issue in three ways. Firstly, it pays special attention to the nexus between the entrepreneur, resources, institutions, opportunities, necessities, and the environment for drawing a comprehensive picture of how individuals could use entrepreneurship for successful upward social mobility in a changing world. Secondly, it emphasizes the peculiar challenges that female entrepreneurs face, how those challenges can be overcome, and how female entrepreneurship may be a route to women’s socio-economic advancement. Thirdly, it highlights the challenges faced by ethnic minority business owners and how such ethnic minority businesses could thrive amid institutional voids as well as direct and indirect forms of discrimination. Based on the latest research from developed and developing countries, the book offers compelling insights for sustaining entrepreneurial ventures in an evolving world.

Dr Tolu Olarewaju has taught, researched, and practiced entrepreneurship, international business, and business management for over a decade. He holds a PhD from Aston Business School, Aston University, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge. Tolu is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has industry experience as a banker. He is particularly interested in research that has policy implications as well as areas incorporating poverty reduction. An award-winning educator, researcher and banker, Tolu regularly contributes to the top journals and conferences in these fields and has also contributed to the Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).