Female Microenterprise Entrepreneurship: Innovative Strategies for Sustainable Local Socioeconomic Development in Peru

This study examines female microenterprise entrepreneurship in the city of Juliaca, Peru, as a response to structural conditions of poverty, informality, and limited inclusion in public policies. In this context, the study seeks to understand and interpret the dynamics of women-led entrepreneurship and its articulation with sustainable local socioeconomic development. A qualitative methodological approach was adopted, based on an interpretative phenomenological design. The research techniques employed included in-depth interviews, direct observation, and documentary review, applied to 16 female microentrepreneurs selected through purposive and snowball sampling. The findings reveal that intrinsic motivations (resilience, leadership, and self-fulfillment) and extrinsic motivations (economic independence, access to financing, and education) constitute key elements in the entrepreneurial process. Additionally, business social capital—through family, community, and institutional networks—was found to play a strategic role in business sustainability. Furthermore, women entrepreneurs actively and significantly contribute to sustainable local socioeconomic development by stimulating local economies, generating employment, and promoting socially, fiscally, and ethically responsible practices. Therefore, although women act as agents of change and transformation, they face structural barriers that require public policies with a territorial and gender-based approach to enhance their impact and sustainability.