Impact of culture on female entrepreneurs

The cultural inclination of an individual tends to influence their entrepreneurial drive. The  traditional gender roles and stereotypes determine the advantages and resources available to  start businesses, as well as the likely challenges in some cultures. Nigeria has three major ethnic blocs (Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba) with different cultural backgrounds and beliefs, which affect their ways of life up to the business level and this was the geographical coverage of the study.

Therefore, this study investigated the impact of culture on women’s entrepreneurship across Yoruba and Igbo ethnic groups. The study sought to understand the direction of culture’s contribution to female entrepreneurship.

The research employed a qualitative research design, which assisted in collecting relevant data and obtaining useful information from the collected data. However, qualitative design data uses  fewer respondents but it covers more indepth. The target population was all the female entrepreneurs in both the Yoruba and Igbo blocs in Nigeria. The sample for the study was purposively, drawn from Abia and Lagos States, Nigeria, because they are parts of the country’s commercial nerve centres and they are part of the two ethnic groups. An interview schedule was  used for the face-to-face interviews with experienced female entrepreneurs to gain further insights into the interplay between culture and entrepreneurship. The collected data were thematically analysed using the QSR-Nvivo software package.

The finding showed that culture influences female entrepreneurs in starting their businesses, with most participants stating that culture positively influences their businesses. For instance, in Igbo culture, business is encouraged from childhood, be it male or female and this background and cultural heritage or tradition are believed to have exposed them to business early. By so doing, this upbringing played a significant role in helping women determine which area of business to venture into and be successful in it.

Similarly, the study showed that female entrepreneurs are faced with cultural barriers, such as how to satisfy customers, marginalisation, unhealthy competition, access to resources, and the trustworthiness of employees. However, some customers do not take women business owners seriously owing to their cultural beliefs that women should only be in the background looking after the household. Women business owners are stereotyped, especially when they are older, which can be very discouraging.

In addition, the study of feminist theoretical background lenses was used in the findings because it recognises the inherent cultural and gender biases towards feminine characteristics, especially women, as the crux of entrepreneurship is rooted in the culture of a particular place. It also established that, despite the barriers, female entrepreneurs are motivated by the passion for the business, family, and friends, the need for wealth creation, positive customer feedback, and the desire to be independent and succeed. The result analysis also compares the similarities and differences between the two blocs. Similarity has been that both unhealthy rivalry, access to adequate resources, family/friends support and passion for business are common and differences are that the support network is more accessible in the Igbo bloc than that of the Yoruba bloc. Also, the COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the businesses of female entrepreneurs from the Igbo and Yoruba ethnic blocs in Nigeria. Based on the findings of this study, this thesis recommends that policymakers enact laws capable of closing the gender gap between males and females in economic and other spheres of life. Though the study had some limitations, it relied heavily on qualitative data, which does not make decisions based on the frequency of agreement. Also, the study concentrated efforts on two of the three major blocs in Nigeria. This was premised on the difficulty of obtaining information from women in the North (the excluded bloc). 

Policymakers and practitioners must understand and address Nigerian women’s cultural and societal barriers to starting and growing their businesses. Also, financial loans should be more easily accessible, especially for female entrepreneurs, through government intervention. Female entrepreneurs should not limit themselves to their local languages because they constitute  barriers to their entrepreneurial drive.