Women Entrepreneurial Leadership: Competencies and Growth Challenges in Medium and Large Enterprises in Ethiopia

The research sets out to examine leadership related factors that could possibly explain why the number of women owners decreases as the size of the enterprise increases. The study aims at identifying functional and personal leadership competencies of women running Medium and Large Enterprises and the challenges they face. In this exploratory research, seven women entrepreneurs were selected using purposeful sampling technique for a study. Findings indicate that while some entrepreneurs handled the growth of their enterprises professionally and formalized their operational systems, others remain overwhelmed by the challenges which reflected on the extent and speed of their business growth. Although they were not threatened by the challenges especially related to networking, location and societal expectations, unfair competition and sexual harassment have been hindrances. Even in the absence of formal organizational settings, the women managed to lead big enterprises owing to the transformational leadership style they use. Hence, this research contributes in highlighting an interesting interrelationship between transformational leadership style, entrepreneurial leadership competencies and female leadership preferences. Nonetheless, the convenience sampling method used in this study limits the generalizability of results and thus, it merits further investigation before definitive conclusions are reached.