Table 1 Description of the dependent and independent variables

WEP (women entrepreneurs’ performance: profit)

WEP (profit) was assigned a value of “1” if women-owned business is profitable and “0” if not

AGE (age of respondents)

AGE was given in years. Age is considered to be important since a woman may increase her performance (e.g., knowledge of business) as she gets older. A value of “1” was given if the age of the respondent was > 30 years and a value of “0” was given if the age of the respondent was 18+ and ≤ 30 years. (< 18 years is underage and 30 years old is a cutoff point for young and adult groups in the Ethiopian context)

+

EDUL (educational level of a respondent)

EDUL was measured using the attainment of grade levels by the respondent. Education helps to raise performance level about businesses. A value of “1” was given if the educational status of the respondent was completed 10 + 1 and 10 + 2 and “0” otherwise.

+

MARS (marital status of a respondent)

MARS was the marital status of the respondent. A value of “1” was given if a respondent was legally married and “0” otherwise.

−

PREEXP (previous entrepreneurial experience of a respondent)

PREEXP was measured using previous entrepreneurial experience years in business sector. Previous entrepreneurial experience helps to raise performance level about entrepreneurial businesses. A value of “1” was given if their previous experience was > 10 years, and a value of “0” was given if their previous experience was 1+ and < 10 years.

+

ACCF (access to finance)

ACCF was the accessibility of finance from financial institutions for the women. A value of “1” was assigned if the women have access to finance and “0” if not

+

ACCMR (access to market)

ACCMR was the accessibility of market for their product within the competition. A value of “1” was given if the women have access to market and “0” if not

+

ACCBINF (access to business information)

ACCBINF was the accessibility of business information to exploit business opportunities. A value of “1” was given if the women have access to business information and “0” if not

+

ACCBUTR (access to business training)

BUTR was the accessibility of better business trainings. Business training helps to raise performance level about different businesses. A value of “1” was given if the women have access to business training and “0” if not

+

LANOWN (land ownership)

LANOWN was the lot used to run the business. A value of “1” was given if the women owned a land and “0” if not

+

ACCPHINFRA (access to physical infrastructure)

ACCPHINFRA was the availability of infrastructure.

+

GOVTSUP (government support)

GOVTSUP was the business assistance and support from the government. A value of “1” was given if the women received support from the government and “0” if not

+

LEVTAX (levied tax)

LEVTAX was the reasonable tax levied on the business. A value of “1” was given if the women believed the tax is reasonable and “0” if not

−