An exploration of the reasons surrounding Indian businesswomen's involvement in home-based business in Shallcross.

Abstract

The topic of this study is “An exploration of the reasons surrounding Indian businesswomen’s involvement in home-based businesses in Shallcross, Durban”. The objective of this study was to investigate some of the reasons why Indian women choose to venture into small business. This study also explored some of the history of the Indian people of Natal (now known as KwaZulu-Natal) and briefly touched on the past and present lives of Indian women in South Africa. The informants used in this study were Indian women who owned small home-based businesses. They all reside in Shallcross where they operate their businesses from their homes. Shallcross is situated in Durban, in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Their businesses consisted of various types like hair salons, catering and gift shops. All interviews with the informants were informal in nature. Informal, unstructured yet indepth interviews and life histories were used in the study to collect data. Life histories were summarized to highlight the aims and results of the study. The literature reviewed for this study focused on issues on female entrepreneurship in South Africa. The most part of the literature review paid special attention to the changing role of Indian women, the nature of small businesses and their importance in South Africa’s developing economy, female motives for entrepreneurship and the future of female entrepreneurship. The literature review process has revealed a gap in the literature regarding Indian women involved in small business, but the literature also provided greater clarity and understanding of women entrepreneurship from both historically and contemporary perspectives.