Factors affecting the Success of Female Entrepreneurs in Kurdistan

Transforming ideas into economic opportunities is the decisive issue of entrepreneurship. It is considered a driver of economic growth and development. History shows that economic progress has been significantly advanced by pragmatic people who are entrepreneurial and innovative. It has become increasingly apparent that entrepreneurship indeed contributes to economic development. In Kurdistan region of Iraq, there are a few successful entrepreneurs and not one of them are female. Thus, meaning that there are factors preventing females from becoming entrepreneurs in Kurdistan. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the barriers of success of female entrepreneurs in Kurdistan by studying 6 factors which consisted of cultural, family, financial, training, , and gender discrimination. The research design used quantitative method and involved quantitative data analysis. Data was collected through primary and secondary data. Structured questionnaires were sent to two organisations in Sulaimaniyah for the collection of the primary data and there were 237 respondents in total. Previous researches were studied for secondary data. The study findings indicated that cultural background, family influence, financial help, training, and gender discrimination all influenced female entrepreneurial success in Kurdistan.