Why trust matters: female entrepreneurship and institutions in Zambia

Policy brief Jan 2026 Sustainable Growth, Women's Economic Empowerment and SMEs

Female entrepreneurs in Zambia earn about half as much as men, and are concentrated in low-return industries. A central barrier is lack of trust: women are less likely to collaborate with men to take advantage of larger opportunities.

Experiments with real entrepreneurs show that access to adjudicators who are protective of the weak eliminates the gender trust gap and increases efficiency for both men and women.