Abstract:

Women entrepreneurship is central to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 5. While universities are increasingly recognized as key players in empowering female entrepreneurs, research has largely focused on government-led interventions, neglecting the role of higher education institutions. Moreover, existing university initiatives remain fragmented and limited to a few institutions, with their impact on successful business outcomes still under-researched. Drawing on gender and development theory, this opinion paper, guided by a critical paradigm, examines the effectiveness of these initiatives in seven selected universities within the South African context. It highlights the insufficient efforts by universities to close the gender gap in entrepreneurship and advocates for a more coordinated, outcome-driven approach. The position of this qualitative study is that stakeholders need to shift from expanding the number of participating universities to how best to enhance the quality and effectiveness of women entrepreneurship programs, which are vital for achieving the broader goals of sustainable development.

Keywords:

South Africa, women entrepreneurs, gender gap, Sustainable Development Goal 5, higher education.