Digital Entrepreneurship as a Catalyst for Women’s Economic Empowerment: Opportunities, Challenges, and Critical Predictors in Urban and Rural Contexts

Abstract

This paper investigate how digital entrepreneurship functions as a catalyst for women’s economic empowerment, examining both the opportunities and persistent challenges faced by women operating online businesses in urban and rural settings. A mixed-methods cross-sectional design was employed across 35 communities, recruiting 850 women entrepreneurs through stratified random sampling, with 826 responses retained after data cleaning. Structured questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions captured demographic variables alongside digital and business metrics, while secondary data supplemented primary sources. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, Pearson correlation, multiple linear regression, independent sample t-tests, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Our results reveal that digital literacy (standardized , ), e-commerce platform usage (, ), digital payment adoption (, ), and internet accessibility (, ) significantly predict economic empowerment, with the regression model explaining 69.8% of variance (). A strong positive correlation between digital entrepreneurship adoption and empowerment was observed (, ); SEM further confirmed robust model fit (CFI = 0.96, RMSEA = 0.046). Major opportunities included expanded market access (81.6%), flexible work (78.9%), and improved financial independence (74.8%); however, limited digital literacy (38.5%), inadequate connectivity (34.8%), and difficulty accessing finance (31.2%) remain significant barriers. Therefore, this research contributes a validated framework that identifies critical predictors of women’s economic empowerment through digital entrepreneurship, providing actionable evidence for policymakers and development practitioners. The findings underscore the necessity of targeted investments in digital skills training, affordable internet infrastructure, and inclusive financial services to sustain these benefits and reduce gender disparities in economic participation