The emergence of a growing community of women entrepreneurs has been described by Professor Brush, Chair of Entrepreneurship at Babson College, as one of the most significant economic and social developments in the world. This is no exaggeration. Women are stepping up to own and run businesses in numbers that would have been hard to imagine a mere few decades ago. The ILO estimates that women entrepreneurs now account for a quarter to a third of all businesses in the formal economy worldwide. This is not merely redefining women’s economic roles; it is reshaping the modern global economy. In an increasingly interconnected world, national economies face stiff competition for markets, resources and skills. Consumers, in turn, are more demanding of originality and innovation. The importance of tapping all potential talent in all possible spheres is self-evident. Much of the available data on women entrepreneurs comes from studies in developed economies. In the developing world - and in South Africa specifically - research in this area has tended to focus on the informal sector. Investigations of the motivations and aspirations of South Africa’s formal sector women entrepreneurs have been relatively limited.