Indigenous entrepreneurship and gender issues: implications for enterprise and innovation

Indigenous communities are under increasing internal and external pressure to build ample and sustainable business enterprises to better provide economic development for its peoples (Pearson, 2000). There is pressure from within these societies in that citizens are now more aware than ever before of how other people in other parts of the world live---advanced technology, itself a product of innovation, has helped create an awareness that people elsewhere have more robust economies and hence better lifestyles. There is also external pressure to the extent that external financial institutions and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations impose conditions on these societies. Most importantly, there is that natural human desire for people to improve their wellbeing and enjoy better standards of living. The paper argues that individuals and groups in traditional societies should focus on sustainable economic development, which has to take into account gender factors and that there are enterprise and innovation implications. To that end, the paper examines the evolution of grassroots small business initiatives in Australia and Tanzania, with Special focus on the role of women in Indigenous business enterprises and the processes that facilitate successful entrepreneurship.