Assessment of business maturity in women entrepreneurs in vulnerable situations: case study of Foundation AKUANUNA users, Quito-Ecuador
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Entrepreneurship represents a fundamental strategy for the economic autonomy of women in vulnerable situations, especially those affected by gender-based violence (GBV). In Ecuador, barriers to female entrepreneurial development include the feminization of poverty, limited access to financing, and lack of management training. This study addresses the lack of specific tools to measure the business maturity of such enterprises, proposing an analysis adapted to the Ecuadorian social context. Its objective is to evaluate the business maturity of enterprises led by users of the AKUANUNA Foundation, through a quantitative approach that analyzes key dimensions such as strategic planning, finance, production, branding, and personal development, incorporating variables of economic empowerment. A culturally adapted questionnaire was applied to entrepreneurs who have sustained their businesses despite economic and social adversities. The results indicate that the entrepreneurs show strengths in product quality, commitment to social responsibility, and resilience. However, they face challenges in innovation management, business administration, adoption of technological tools, legal formalization, and market access. The low participation in commercialization spaces and the limited strategic planning highlight the need for training in these areas. As a contribution, the study proposes training strategies in innovation, sustainability, financial management, and legal formalization, with a gender-based approach that considers GBV as a structural factor in women's economic autonomy.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Authors who publish in the INNOVA Research Journal keeps copyright and guarantee the journal the right to be the first publication of the work under the Creative Commons License, Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). They can be copied, used, disseminated, transmitted and publicly exhibited, provided that: a) the authorship and original source of their publication (magazine, publisher, URL and DOI of the work) is cited; b) are not used for commercial purposes; c) the existence and specifications of this license of use are mentioned.
References
Achmad, W. (2023). Socially and Economically Vulnerable Women: Building Strategies to Move Out of Poverty. Prisma Sains: Jurnal Pengkajian Ilmu Dan Pembelajaran Matematika Dan IPA IKIP Mataram, 11(2), 316. https://doi.org/10.33394/j-ps.v11i2.7486
Amador Martínez, M. de L., Saldarriaga Hernández, N. I., Franco Azcarate, L. A., Chamorro Valenzuela, J., & Vásquez
Andrade, K. A. (2023). Empoderamiento de mujeres emprendedoras, actoras en la economía del Valle del Cauca, Colombia. LATAM Revista Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, 4(6), 123–139. https://www.google.com/search?q=https://doi.org/10.56712/latam.v4i6.1428
Bagheri, A., Javadian, G., Zakeri, P., & Arasti, Z. (2023). Bearing the Unbearable: Exploring Women Entrepreneurs Resilience Building in Times of Crises. Journal of Business Ethics, 193(3), 715–738. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-023-05577-9
Cardella, G. M., Hernández-Sánchez, B. R., & Sánchez-García, J. C. (2020). Women Entrepreneurship: A Systematic Review to Outline the Boundaries of Scientific Literature. Frontiers in Psychology, 11(July), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01557
Cárdenas-Gutiérrez, J., & Barrientos-Monsalve, E. (2021). Revisión contemporánea de la madurez empresarial y grado de maduración. 7, 101–124.
Castrillon, J., & Urrego, D. A. (2020). Modelo para la medición del nivel de madurez de capacidades empresariales para la productividad y competitividad, Crl. January. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.32543.10404
Chaverri, D. (2018). Delimitación y justificación de problemas de investigación en ciencias sociales. Revista de Ciencias Sociales, 2017(157), 185–193. https://doi.org/10.15517/rcs.v0i157.32189
Costa-Ruiz, M.-P., Armijos-Buitrón, V.-A., & Ríos-Zaruma, J.-A. (2022). Actitud emprendedora y empoderamiento de la mujer indígena y mestiza en la provincia de Loja. Revista Científica Ciencia y Tecnología, 22(34). https://doi.org/10.47189/rcct.v22i34.534
de la Torre-Jiménez, G. (s.f.). Elaboración de un modelo de madurez para el fortalecimiento de la gestión integral de riesgos en el área de riesgos y cumplimiento de una empresa del sector aeronáutico.
Fundación AKUANUNA. (2022). Causas estructurales de la violencia machista y su impacto en la salud integral de las mujeres.
Fundación AKUANUNA. (2024). Informe técnico de seguimiento del Programa de Empoderamiento Emocional y Económico. [documento interno]. 2024.
Gontero, S., & Ravest, J. (2025). Desigualdad salarial de género en América Latina: ¿Cuál es la brecha relevante por cerrar?
González, O. H. (2021). An approach to the different types of nonprobabilistic sampling. Revista Cubana de Medicina General Integral, 37(3), 6–8.
INEC. (2019). Principales resultados de la Encuesta Nacional de Relaciones Familiares y Violencia de Género contra las Mujeres - EMVIGMU. INEC, 2–77.
Krause, J., Myroshnychenko, I., Tiutiunyk, S., & Latysh, D. (2024). Financial Instruments of the Green Energy Transition: Research Landscape Analysis. Financial Markets, Institutions and Risks, 8(2), 198–212. https://doi.org/10.61093/fmir.8(2).198-212.2024
Medina, E. J., & Fernández, M. J. (2021). La autonomía económica de las mujeres latinoamericanas. Apuntes del Cenes, 40(72), 181–204. https://doi.org/10.19053/01203053.v40.n72.2021.12606
Miñarro Casaú, P., Ortiz García, P. (2023). Emprendimiento y género. Una experiencia de resiliencia en la ciudad de Lorca. Aposta: Revista de ciencias sociales, 96 (52-68). https://portalinvestigacion.um.es/documentos/63c0b38b3df4c204fbb04e0f
Ñungo-Pinzón, L. C., Torres-González, B., & José Ignacio, P.-O. (2021). Modelo de nivel de madurez para los procesos de emprendimiento en las pymes colombianas. 14(26), 57–67.
ONU MUJERES. (2023). El progreso en el cumplimiento de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible: Panorama de género 2023. In El progreso en el cumplimiento de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible: Panorama de género 2021. https://doi.org/10.18356/9789210010412
Perilla, L., Ruíz, M. del C., & Peña, L. G. Y. (2022). Emprendimiento femenino para lograr el empoderamiento económico. Desarrollo Gerencial, 14(2), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.17081/dege.14.2.5252
PNUD. (2019). El enfoque de igualdad para la movilidad humana en el desarrollo territorial.
Pozo, J. (2022). Modelo de Madurez de Ecosistemas de Emprendimiento e Innovación de Instituciones de Educación Superior del Ecuador.
Ramírez-Casco, A., Berrones-Paraguay, A., & Calderón Moran, E. (2021). La planificación financiera como herramienta para el desarrollo empresarial post Covid. Polo del conocimiento, 56(3), 217–227. https://doi.org/10.23857/pc.v6i3.2359
Ranabahu, N., & Tanima, F. A. (2021). Empowering Vulnerable Microfinance Women Through Entrepreneurship: Opportunities, Challenges, and the Way forward.
Sánchez, A. V., De Jesús Arias Guzmán, M., & Peña-Lang, M. B. (2021). A training model for developing social entrepreneurship. Educar, 57(1), 97–116. https://doi.org/10.5565/REV/EDUCAR.1153
Sánchez-Montero, I., Borja-Galeas, C., & Cajas, V. (2024). Business Development through Entrepreneurship Maturity Measurement.
Slavinski, T., Todorović, M., Vukmirović, V., & Montenegro, A. M. (2020). Women, entrepreneurship, and education: Descriptive bibliometric analysis based on Scopus database. Journal Women’s Entrepreneurship and Education, 2020(3–4), 181–201. https://doi.org/10.28934/jwee20.34.pp181-201
van Daalen, K. R., Kallesøe, S. S., Davey, F., Dada, S., Jung, L., Singh, L., Issa, R., Emilian, C. A., Kuhn, I., Keygnaert, I., & Nilsson, M. (2022). Extreme events and gender-based violence: a mixed-methods systematic review. The Lancet Planetary Health, 6(6), e504–e523. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00088-2
Ventura, A. M., Morillas, L., Martins-Loução, M. A., & Cruz, C. (2021). Women’s empowerment, research, and management: Their contribution to social sustainability. Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(22). https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212754