A Theoretical Framework for Gendered Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in Tanzania: An Institutional Perspective

Entrepreneurial ecosystems in Sub-Saharan Africa are often analysed without sufficient attention to the institutional mechanisms that produce gendered outcomes. In Tanzania, while female entrepreneurship is prevalent, systemic constraints persist, limiting growth and formalisation. This article develops a novel theoretical framework to analyse how formal and informal institutions interact to shape gendered entrepreneurial ecosystems. It aims to identify the specific institutional logics and barriers affecting women's business activities. The framework is constructed through a synthesis of institutional theory and feminist economics, applied to the Tanzanian context. It employs a multi-level analysis of regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive institutional pillars. The framework posits that informal normative institutions, particularly kinship obligations and gendered asset ownership norms, exert a stronger influence on women's entrepreneurial trajectories than formal regulatory ones. A key theme is the 'dual burden' of navigating both commercial and domestic institutional logics. The proposed framework provides a robust analytical tool for understanding the embeddedness of gender within entrepreneurial ecosystems, moving beyond descriptive accounts to explain the reproduction of inequality. Future research should apply this framework empirically. Policymakers should design interventions that address the interplay of formal and informal institutions, rather than focusing solely on legal reforms. entrepreneurial ecosystems, gender, institutional theory, Tanzania, informal institutions This article's novel contribution is a multi-level institutional framework that explicitly models the interaction between formal and informal institutions in gendering entrepreneurial ecosystems in a Sub-Saharan African context.