Empowering women‐owned small and medium‐sized enterprises: Does the women's cooperative support program matter?

Abstract

This study investigates the growth of women‐owned small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) by examining the roles of women's cooperative empowerment, financial literacy, financial inclusion and risk tolerance. Using survey data from 230 women entrepreneurs in Indonesia, the study applies partial least squares structural equation modelling to test direct and sequential mediation effects, complemented by necessary condition analysis (NCA) to identify critical prerequisites for achieving business outcomes. The findings show that empowerment through women's cooperatives significantly improves financial literacy, which in turn enhances financial inclusion and SME growth. Moreover, the NCA results further indicate that a minimum level of women's cooperative empowerment is a necessary condition for achieving higher financial literacy and inclusion. This study contributes to the literature by integrating predictive and necessity‐based approaches to better explain women's entrepreneurial development in a developing‐country context.