FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS SURVIVAL AND ITS IMPACT IN THIS GENERATION

1.1 Introduction

In developing countries, the concept and practice of entrepreneurship has been embraced by both academia and professionals as a result of its effect on the economic development and growth of nations. The female folks have correspondingly embraced this phenomenon as many have started out their own business. Globally, there has been bolstering emphasis on female entrepreneurship in light of tangible evidence of the importance of new business creation for economic growth and development (Bergmann, Müller & Schrettle 2014; Lock & Lawton-Smith 2016). The inputs of female entrepreneurs in innumerable aspect of different economies have been the catalyst orchestrating the agitation not to underestimate the female-entrepreneurial capability.

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

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1.2 Background of Study

In Nigeria, females constitute more than 50% of the population and amongst this; only about 35% are involved in entrepreneurship which are grouped under the form of micro, small, medium and large enterprises (Odoemene, 2003). Despite the number of females in Nigeria in terms of physical population, educational, economic and social status, they are not well represented during policy making process, especially in issues of business and manpower development due to perceptual-error or stereotype. Culturally, the female entrepreneurs have not been on an equal footing when it comes to access to opportunities and assets, and contextually addressing the barriers facing women in business (Athanne, 2011) has been an emotional debate. Moreover, female entrepreneurs in Nigeria are faced with a myriad of obstacles and challenges, and the lack of support from government and non-governmental agencies further exasperate their effort.

In light of the micro and individual contributions of female entrepreneurs, to various economies both in the formal and informal sectors, Usman, Ummi & Fuadah (2016) identified their huge impact on economic growth and development. Hence, female entrepreneurship development has become necessary to economic analysis and family welfare discourse as nations strive to achieve growth. Consequently, any obstacle or neglect tends to impede such development which requires serious attention. While the paper is not addressing gender-related discourse or feminism, it looks at the instrumental role of female entrepreneurs in ensuring business survival.

Many females enter self-employment for control over their life and schedules, which create more control and balance over their work and family life than they have experienced in other careers (Adkins, Samaras, Gilfillan, McWee 2013; Chlosta, Patzelt, Klein & Dotrmann, 2012; & Purvis & Bobko, 2012). Highly experienced and educated women left their employment as a result of job dissatisfaction for entrepreneurship opportunities (Krishnamoorthy & Balasubramani, 2014). These women who are motivated by their desires, leave top paying jobs and managerial positions to create new opportunities, new challenges, self-determination desires, and balance of their personal life and work experiences (Krishnamoorthy & Balasubramani, 2014; McGowan et al., 2012).

Nevertheless, the dynamic nature of Nigerian environment has triggered changes that include the recognition of the potential of females and their contribution to the economy (Okafor & Mordi, 2010). It is in light of this that the study seeks to examine the extent to which female entrepreneur are able to ensure their survival in their entrepreneurial pursuit. As such, it looks at gender stereotypes, family support and socio-cultural factors effect on business survival among female entrepreneurs in Remo, Ogun State. The proposition is that gender inequalities can translate into gender inability to manage which leads to poor choices in management of organization.

Therefore, in Lagos State Residents where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Female Entrepreneurs Survival and Its Impact in this Generation.

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1.3 Statement of Problems

Female Entrepreneurial Skills development has continued to be a popular concept in the world due to its leading role as catalyst for nation’s growth and economic development. Entrepreneurship globally, can boast of being a major employer of labour if compared to major industries and multinationals (Kadiri, 2011).

The Nigerian government has initiated several programmes that are geared towards the mobilization, training and supporting initiatives that will development. despite all these, the efforts seems abortive, this can be linked to the problems embedded in the Nigerian business environment, some of which are corruption, unavailability of good, roads, erratic power supply, political instability, presence of inflation.

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to scrutinize the Female Entrepreneurs Survival and Its Impact in this Generation using Lagos State Residents as a case study. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To examine the factors instigating Female Entrepreneurs Survival in the 21st Century
2. To unveil the environment challenges confronting female entrepreneurs' business survival in Lagos State.
3. To identify the impact of business environment on female entrepreneurships productivity.
4. To assess governments monitoring and control activities to ensure female entrepreneurship performance in sustaining economic development in Lagos State.

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1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• Does business environment affect female entrepreneurship performance in Lagos State?
• What are the factors instigating Female Entrepreneurs Survival in the 21st Century
• What is the environment challenges confronting female entrepreneurs' business survival in Lagos State?
• What are the government monitoring and control activities to ensure female entrepreneurship performance in sustaining economic development in Lagos State?

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1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

• H0: There is no significant factor affecting female entrepreneurs’ business survival in Lagos State
• H1: There is significant factor affecting female entrepreneurs’ business survival in Lagos State

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1.7 Significance of Study

The study will be beneficial to entrepreneurs in Lagos State as the findings of the research will help them to pay special attention to those factors which are capable of affecting their enterprise negatively. They study will also contribute to the existing knowledge on entrepreneurship development.

This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.

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1.8 Scope of Study

The study focuses on the Female Entrepreneurs Survival and Its Impact in this 21^st Century Generation using Lagos State Residents as a case study.

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1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

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1.10 Definition of Terms

The following terms were used in the course of this study:

Entrepreneurship education: Seeks to provide students with the knowledge, skills and motivation to encourage entrepreneurial success in a variety of settings. Variations of entrepreneurship education are offered at all levels of schooling from primary or secondary schools through graduate university programs.

Job creation: The process of providing new jobs, especially for people who are unemployed, the government's job creation strategy.

Skills acquisition: The ability to learn or acquire skills. It involves the development of a new skill, practice of a way of doing things usually gained through training or experience.