Purpose: This research aims to understand the difficulties and realities of women in technology franchise enterprises in South Africa, based on gendered barriers, resources, and ways of managing them. Thus, its goal is to generate knowledge that can benefit policymakers and practitioners and help them make better decisions that can change the current status of an unkind context for entrepreneurs. Design/methodology/approach: The research utilized a qualitative design to gain detailed insights from women entrepreneurs in South Africa. Data was gathered through virtual in-depth interviews, offering flexibility and comprehensive contextual understanding across diverse locations. Thematic analysis was employed to identify and organize recurring themes from the data. Purposive and stratified sampling methods were used to select 30 women from various sectors (fintech, healthtech, edtech) and regions, ensuring a representative and diverse sample. Findings: This paper reveals that women in South Africa’s tech start-ups face gender discrimination, unequal funding, and mentorship challenges. Despite these barriers, support networks enhance resilience and success. Women-led start-ups are excelling in fintech, health tech, and education, highlighting the need for gender-specific measures to ensure equal opportunities in tech entrepreneurship. Originality: This study has research significance in investigating female entrepreneurs in South Africa’s start-ups & evaluating overlooked challenges like funding discrimination and absence of role models. By conducting virtual interviews and performing thematic analysis, it captures novel experiences of gendered barriers and showcases how female entrepreneurs innovate across sectors.