Women entrepreneurship in the era of digital transformation
Keywords:
Women Entrepreneurship, Digital Transformation, Digital Economy, Women EmpowermentAbstract
Women entrepreneurship has become an important driver of economic growth, innovation, employment generation, and social empowerment in the modern digital economy. The rapid advancement of digital technologies such as e-commerce, artificial intelligence, fintech, cloud computing, social media, and digital marketing has significantly transformed entrepreneurial ecosystems and created new opportunities for women entrepreneurs. Digital transformation has enabled women to overcome traditional barriers related to finance, mobility, market accessibility, and communication by facilitating online business operations and flexible work environments. The present study examines the role of digital transformation in promoting women entrepreneurship and identifies the opportunities and challenges associated with digital business environments. The study also evaluates the impact of digital entrepreneurship on women empowerment and economic development while suggesting suitable strategies and policy measures for strengthening women-led enterprises. The research adopts a descriptive and analytical methodology based on secondary data collected from journals, books, conference proceedings, government reports, online databases, and published studies from 2010 to 2026. The findings reveal that digital technologies significantly contribute to financial inclusion, business innovation, market expansion, employment generation, and entrepreneurial sustainability among women entrepreneurs.
Downloads
References
Anbalagan, S., & Sudha, R. (2024). Digital inclusion and women entrepreneurship in emerging economies. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Research, 12(3), 145–159.
Arora, N., & Malik, S. (2022). Digital marketing adoption among women-owned small businesses in India. International Journal of Marketing and Technology, 12(4), 65–79.
Bhatnagar, P., & Yadav, S. (2023). Women entrepreneurs and AI adoption during the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Journal of Digital Business Studies, 8(2), 67–81.
Chaudhary, M., & Saxena, V. (2021). Social media entrepreneurship and women empowerment in emerging economies. Asian Journal of Business and Management, 8(3), 144–158.
Das, S., Roy, T., & Mukherjee, A. (2024). Artificial intelligence applications in women-led startups. International Journal of Digital Innovation, 15(1), 55–70.
Elia, G., Margherita, A., & Passiante, G. (2020). Digital entrepreneurship ecosystem: How digital technologies and collective intelligence are reshaping the entrepreneurial process. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 150, 119791.
Fernandes, L., & Pillai, K. (2020). E-commerce platforms and entrepreneurial growth among women entrepreneurs. Journal of Electronic Commerce Studies, 7(2), 88–102.
Guo, F., Wang, J., & Cheng, Z. (2024). Digital finance and women entrepreneurship: Evidence from developing economies. Economic Modelling, 132, 106487.
Gupta, N., Rao, P., & Singh, D. (2025). Cloud computing and digital business sustainability for women entrepreneurs. Journal of Emerging Business Technologies, 13(1), 34–49.
Iyer, R., & Menon, S. (2019). Digital payment systems and financial inclusion among women entrepreneurs. Indian Journal of Finance and Banking, 6(4), 75–89.
Kapoor, S., & Srinivasan, R. (2016). E-commerce and women entrepreneurship in India. International Journal of Commerce and Management Research, 2(5), 45–52.
Kashyap, P., Mehra, S., & Bedi, R. (2026). Women entrepreneurship and AI-driven innovation ecosystems. Journal of Technology and Entrepreneurship Research, 17(2), 112–129.
Khurana, S., Haleem, A., & Luthra, S. (2022). Digital technologies and SME resilience during COVID-19. Journal of Business Research, 142, 808–817.
Mehta, R., Sharma, K., & Patel, D. (2023). Digital transformation and entrepreneurial resilience among Indian SMEs. Asian Journal of Management Studies, 14(1), 55–71.
Nair, P., & Kulkarni, S. (2017). Growth of e-commerce and women entrepreneurship in India. International Journal of Business Analytics, 4(2), 78–89.
Nambisan, S. (2017). Digital entrepreneurship: Toward a digital technology perspective of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 41(6), 1029–1055.
Narayanan, V., & Thomas, A. (2023). Online learning platforms and entrepreneurial skill development among women. Education and Digital Society, 10(3), 96–111.
Omoush, K. (2024). Social commerce adoption among women entrepreneurs. Journal of Digital Economy and Innovation, 10(4), 233–249.
Pandey, R. (2024). Digital entrepreneurship and women empowerment in India. International Journal of Social Economics, 51(3), 310–326.
Parnami, C., & Bisawa, S. (2015). Role of e-commerce in empowering women entrepreneurs. Indian Journal of Commerce and Management Studies, 6(2), 14–21.
Rathore, N., & Gupta, A. (2024). Social media and digital business transformation among women entrepreneurs. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Technology, 9(1), 91–107.
Reddy, V., Kumar, S., & Joseph, M. (2022). Internet competencies and entrepreneurial intentions among university students. Journal of Digital Learning and Education, 5(3), 120–135.
Salamzadeh, A., Dana, L. P., & Anastasiadis, F. (2024). Women entrepreneurship and digital transformation: Opportunities and challenges. Administrative Sciences, 14(2), 56–72.
Sharma, P., & Verma, A. (2024). AI-supported entrepreneurship and business continuity among women entrepreneurs. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 13(1), 88–102.
Shukla, R., Mishra, P., & Tiwari, S. (2021). Internet capabilities and entrepreneurial intentions among students. Education and Information Technologies, 26(5), 6123–6141.
Taheri, M. (2024). Digitalization, sustainability, and women entrepreneurship. Sustainability, 16(7), 2894.
Tripathi, S., & Agarwal, R. (2023). Fintech adoption and financial inclusion among women entrepreneurs. Journal of Financial Innovation, 11(2), 98–113.
Verhoef, P. C., Broekhuizen, T., & Bart, Y. (2021). Digital transformation: A multidisciplinary reflection and research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 122, 889–901.
Yousef, H., & Rahman, F. (2024). Cybersecurity challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in digital business environments. International Journal of Cyber Business Studies, 5(2), 120–136.
Irene, B., Onoshakpor, C., Lockyer, J., Chukwuma-Nwuba, K., & Ndeh, S. (2025). Now you see them, now you don’t: Will technological advancement erode the gains made by women entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa?. Journal of International Entrepreneurship, 1-35.
Hazudin, S. F., Sabri, M. F., Kader, M. A. R. A., & Ishak, M. (2021). Empowering women-owned businesses in the era of digital transformation: a review of the opportunities and challenges. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(19), 1-13.
Joseph, N. S., & Yakubu, M. N. (2025). From Exclusion to Empowerment: Rethinking Digital Transformation for Women Entrepreneurs. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science, 10(10), 669-676.
Qasim, D., Shuhaiber, A., Bany Mohammed, A., & Valeri, M. (2024). E-entrepreneurial attitudes and behaviours in the United Arab Emirates: an empirical investigation in the digital transformation era. European Journal of Innovation Management, 27(8), 3014-3034.
Nursanti, E. A., & Nurhayati, S. (2024, December). Empowering rural women entrepreneurs through digital marketing: Strategies for household business growth. In International seminar on community education.
Savaş, Y., & Arıcıoğlu, M. A. (2025). Digital Transformation in the Competitive Advantage of Women's Business Co-Operation: A Research Study on Women's Co-Operatives. In Digitalization and Women's Rights (pp. 24-39). CRC Press.
Paoloni, P., Secundo, G., Ndou, V., & Modaffari, G. (2018, March). Women entrepreneurship and digital technologies: Towards a research agenda. In IPAZIA Workshop on Gender Issues (pp. 181-194). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Shah, M. A. (2017). Empowerment and transformation of women entrepreneurs through Digital India drive. Anveshana, 7(2), 14-27.
Irwin, K., McDowell, W., & Ribeiro-Navarrete, S. (2025). How can women entrepreneurs overcome funding challenges: The role of digitalization and innovation. Venture Capital, 27(2), 225-247.
Zhao, L., & Chen, Y. (2025). Artificial intelligence adoption and women-led digital enterprises. International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Society, 18(1), 41–58.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 The International tax journal

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.


