Among the millions of entrepreneurs in developing economies, few are able to earn a decent livelihood. To help these entrepreneurs succeed, governmental and nongovernmental organizations invest billions of dollars every year providing training programs. Many of these programs involve providing entrepreneurs with mentors. Unfortunately, the effects of these programs are often muted, or even null, for women-owned firms. Against this backdrop, we tested whether gender-matching, where female entrepreneurs are randomly paired with a female mentor, could help address the gender gap. Findings from a randomized controlled field experiment with 930 Ugandan entrepreneurs show that although mentor gender has little impact on male entrepreneurs, it has a powerful impact on female entrepreneurs. Firm sales and profits of female entrepreneurs guided by a female mentor increased by, on average, 34% and 29% compared to the control group, and these estimates are even larger for female entrepreneurs with high aspirations. In contrast, female entrepreneurs guided by a male mentor did not significantly improve performance compared to the control group. We provide suggestive mechanism evidence that female mentor-mentee arrangements are characterized by more relational exchanges.

More on this topic

BFI Working Paper·Feb 14, 2025

The Social Construction of Race during Reconstruction

Anjali Adukia, Richard Hornbeck, Daniel Keniston, and Benjamin Lualdi
Topics: Economic Mobility & Poverty
BFI Working Paper·Feb 11, 2025

Income Equality in The Nordic Countries: Myths, Facts, and Lessons

Magne Mogstad, Kjell G. Salvanes, and Gaute Torsvik
Topics: Economic Mobility & Poverty, Employment & Wages
BFI Working Paper·Feb 4, 2025

Local GDP Estimates Around the World

Esteban Rossi-Hansberg and Jialing Zhang
Topics: COVID-19, Economic Mobility & Poverty