Women tech hub: Supporting females to accelerate the digitalization of their start-ups in Georgia

Urzelai, Berrbizne; Carracedo, Patricia; Mghebrishvili, Avtandili

Abstract

We are now living in a constantly changing context characterized by a high digital revolution that adds uncertainty and complexity to business managers and entrepreneurs around the world. Therefore, organizations are witnessing and leading many digital transformations that influence their strategies, policies and operations. Covid-19 in fact has been a key drive for fast-tracking their digitalization journey. This study analyzes the role of the digitalization in female owned businesses operating in Georgia, and the barriers they face during their startup process. We focus our findings on data gathered from female owned star-ups in Georgia, and student participants from both Georgia and the UK who are taking part in a collaborative project, the Women Tech Hub, to support the digitalization of those start-ups. We found that female were often driven by intrinsic motivation and faced barriers related to the lack of financial resources, knowledge and training, and mentoring and coaching. The findings show there is a need for a change in education and society so as to break with stereotypes and change mindsets to welcome and support females in the entrepreneurial landscape. Besides, we can say that both students and start-ups welcome these kinds of initiatives but Higher Education institution need to take a much more active role in re-thinking their entrepreneurship education related pedagogies.

• Publication Date: Nov 10, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jul 21, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 11, 2023
• Publisher: Nova Science Publishers
• Book Title: Digitalization in Business: On the Road to a Sustainable World
• Chapter Number: 6
• ISBN: 979-8-88697-275-7
• Keywords: Digitalization, entrepreneurship, start-ups, females, Georgia
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/9718951
• Publisher URL: https://novapublishers.com/shop/digitalization-in-business-on-the-road-to-a-sustainable-world/
• Related Public URLs: https://novapublishers.com/product-category/books/; ; DOI: 10.52305/TUTV9605