Barriers in Venturing Home-based Food Business Among Urban B40 Women in Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract

In Malaysia, home-based businesses emerge as one of the most enticing paths for entrepreneurial endeavors. This paper attempts to identify the barriers faced by urban women from the B40 demographic in the Selangor, Malaysia. A group of 25 participants in a one-day pastry-making workshop was conveniently chosen to partake in this study. A post-event survey was conducted to gain deeper insights into the hurdles these participants faced in their efforts to establish home-based pastry businesses. Only two participants managed to launch their pastry businesses following the workshop. The barriers highlighted by most participants revolved around initial capital to initiate their home-based businesses, a shortage of suitable equipment and utensils, and the unsuitability of their homes for running food-related business activities.