Shifting the lens

: rethinking gender and intersectionality in the design of entrepreneurial funding and ecosystems

Abstract

Purpose – This study explores how intersectionality can be meaningfully embedded in the design of entrepreneurial ecosystems and funding mechanisms to promote inclusive impact. Design/methodology/approach – The research used a qualitative approach, drawing on 23 semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs, funders, and ecosystem actors across different geographical locations and cross-sectors. It applies intersectionality, feminist institutionalism, and positionality theory to analyze how inclusion is interpreted, enacted, and contested across layers. Findings – The findings reveal that structural exclusion is reproduced through normative investment logics, investor homophily, biased legitimacy frameworks, elite-coded norms. Inclusion is often reduced to performative representational fixes rather than embedded redistribution. However, actors are creating feminist and community-rooted infrastructures that redefine entrepreneurial value, legitimacy and redistribute power. Research limitations/implications – The research sample may underrepresent informal entrepreneurs or those without institutional access. Future studies should deepen insights with participatory and comparative methodologies. Practical implications – The study offers actionable insights for funders, policymakers, and ecosystem designers to shift from demographic metrics to structural redesign, embedding equity into mandates and decision-making. Social implications – By centering relational practices, epistemic justice, and structural redistribution, the research offers pathways toward more just and inclusive innovation ecosystems. Originality – This study reframes intersectionality from a descriptive tool into a design principle for ecosystem architecture, contributing new theoretical and practical insights into the field of inclusive entrepreneurship.

Date of Award	1 Jul 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Fabricio Stocker (Supervisor)