diff --git a/src/PyCall.jl b/src/PyCall.jl
index 71bb65e4..0c189d18 100644
--- a/src/PyCall.jl
+++ b/src/PyCall.jl
@@ -622,6 +622,9 @@ function anaconda_conda()
     if conda || !occursin("conda", unsafe_string(ccall(@pysym(:Py_GetVersion), Ptr{UInt8}, ())))
         return ""
     end
+    if isempty(pyprogramname)
+        return ""
+    end
     aconda = joinpath(dirname(pyprogramname), "conda")
     return isfile(aconda) ? aconda : ""
 end
diff --git a/src/startup.jl b/src/startup.jl
index daf3d615..203c78f0 100644
--- a/src/startup.jl
+++ b/src/startup.jl
@@ -80,6 +80,7 @@ else
     # If we're not in charge, assume the user is installing necessary python
     # libraries rather than messing with their configuration
     const conda = false
+    const pyprogramname = ""
 end
 
 const pyversion = vparse(split(Py_GetVersion(libpy_handle))[1])