Emerging effects of elevating the Masaka municipality to city status on women’ entrepreneurship with in the city

Abstract

The elevation of Masaka Municipality to city status on 1 July 2020 formed part of Uganda’s wider urbanization and decentralization agenda intended to strengthen local economic development, service delivery and administrative capacity. Although city creation can expand markets, infrastructure and institutional visibility, its benefits are not automatically genderequitable. Women entrepreneurs experience urban transformation through gendered access to finance, market space, safety, digital tools, unpaid care responsibilities and voice in decisionmaking. This study examined the emerging effects of Masaka’s elevation to city status on women’s entrepreneurship, focusing on new opportunities, changing business trends and challenges in the upgraded urban context. The study was guided by Anthony Giddens’ Structuration Theory and Liberal Feminist Theory. Structuration Theory explained the relationship between changing urban rules and resources and the agency of women entrepreneurs who adapt to, negotiate and may reshape those structures. Liberal Feminist Theory provided a gender-equity lens for assessing women’s access to resources, rights, participation and economic opportunities. A qualitative exploratory case-study design was used. Data were generated from 40 participants in Nyendo-Ssenyange and KatweButego divisions through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, key informant interviews and document review. Participants were purposively selected to include women entrepreneurs, city officials, financial-sector actors, NGO/CBO representatives, local leaders and a small number of male entrepreneurs for comparative insight. Expert sampling referred to the deliberate selection of participants with specialized knowledge of city planning, business regulation, financial services or women’s economic empowerment. The findings indicated that city status was associated with improved road access, greater customer flow, increased business visibility, diversification, professionalization, digital adoption and wider participation by some women in market and community leadership. However, the benefits were uneven: women with stronger capital, education, networks, digital access and better-located premises benefited more than poorer women in informal or peripheral spaces. Persistent challenges included limited access to affordable finance, rising rents and taxes, inadequate secure storage, uneven infrastructure, digital exclusion, harassment, theft, spousal intimidation and unpaid care responsibilities. The study concludes that city status can enable women’s entrepreneurial agency only when urban structures are deliberately gender-responsive and inclusive. It recommends gender-responsive market infrastructure, accessible finance, digital-skills support, anti-harassment and security mechanisms, childcare-sensitive planning and institutionalized participation of women entrepreneurs in city decision-making.