A Theoretical Framework for Digitalisation, Entrepreneurship and Gendered Urban Livelihoods in Malawi, 2010–2025

This article presents a revised theoretical framework for analysing the complex interplay between digitalisation, entrepreneurship, and gendered urban livelihoods in Malawi from 2010 to 2025. It addresses the critical research problem of how the rapid, yet uneven, diffusion of digital technologies is reshaping economic opportunities for women within entrenched patriarchal structures. The methodology employs a critical synthesis of interdisciplinary literature, rigorously integrating African feminist political economy with digital entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihood frameworks. The central argument posits that digitalisation is a deeply gendered transformative process, which simultaneously opens new avenues for women’s entrepreneurial agency whilst often exacerbating existing socio-economic divides. The framework systematically elucidates how specific factors—including mobile money adoption, social media commerce, and platform work—intersect with women’s care burdens, asset constraints, and social networks to reconfigure livelihood strategies in cities like Blantyre and Lilongwe. The significance of this contribution lies in its provision of a contextualised, rigorous analytical tool that moves beyond techno-optimistic narratives. By foregrounding the situated realities of Malawian women, it offers a structured approach to investigate how digital transitions might be steered towards more equitable and sustainable urban economic inclusion in Malawi and analogous contexts.