Exporing business management obscurities encountered by female entrepreenuers in Nigeria: Prospecting an agenda for social change

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine difficulties facing Nigerian female entrepreneurs in developing their businesses. The paper addresses the gap in literature on the challenges confronting female entrepreneurs in a non-Western context that tends to obscure any meaningful contribution made by women in this area of work. Using a qualitative methodology, a thematic analysis design was used on the data obtained from semi-structured interviews conducted with 30 women engaged in entrepreneurship retail businesses in two states-Lagos and Oyo States located within the South-West regions of Nigeria. The findings revealed cultural biases, lack of acceptance, inadequate literacy as well as the challenges in accessing funding for their ventures as root causes of business failure. The study results further highlights agendas that are perceived solutions for entrepreneurship development in this context. The practical implication of the study is to draw the attention of policy-makers and scholars of genderthemed research of this nature to begin to focus on probing conditions marginalising industrious females wishing to actively participate at the mainstream.