Emancipation through tourism entrepreneurship for women in Nepal: ‘Empowerment entrepreneurship’

Women in Nepal are marginalised and impoverished throughout the country; particularly in rural and remote areas. Seven female entrepreneurs from a range of tourism-related industries were interviewed to understand the contexts, strategies, barriers and success factors enabling and empowering Nepali women to lift themselves from poverty. The women of these enterprises narrated their journeys of emancipation; inspiring and supporting women who believed they had no opportunities to make their own way in the world. The qualitative grounded theory study raised two categories, integrated from six key themes. The categories demonstrate that outcomes for women accessing tourism are based on the “personal environments, processes and motivations for Nepali women entrepreneurs”; and this enables “the entrepreneurship pathways experienced by Nepali women”.