Chapter 1: Women Migrant Entrepreneurship From West and Central Africa in Dakar: An Exploratory Study

Migration and entrepreneurship are two mutually influencing phenomena, especially in Africa, where migration is a key to understanding the entrepreneurial dynamics of women who settle in a foreign country. For many, entrepreneurship represents an emancipation strategy or an economic opportunity. In Dakar (Senegal), a growing number of women from Central and West Africa are engaging in entrepreneurship, either formally or informally, or both simultaneously, in a variety of sectors. Despite their dynamism, the situation of women entrepreneurs from Central and West Africa in Dakar differs from one another, depending on their background, level of education, and ability to integrate into the Senegalese capital. The results of this exploratory research highlight Dakar’s attractiveness for the development of entrepreneurship among women from migrant backgrounds.