1.1 Introduction
Microfinance is the provision of non-collateral financial services to the poor or those in low-income households who are unable to offer assets as security (Azevedo, 2007). The poor, defined as those living on income below their countries poverty line, often fail to access formal financial services (Banerjee and Duflo, 2007; Helms, 2006). Women are considered to be the poorest among the hapless. In Nigeria, the introduction of the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) in the early 1980s increased the poverty rate among the Nigerian women this was because during the privatization of public corporations the women were the foremost to be retrenched before the men. Most of the women found relief in the informal sector after leaving the formal sector. The informal sector is known for its vulnerability and, poverty is high in the shadow economy. Poverty is predominant in the informal economy in least developed nations (Khalex, 2005).
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.
1.2 Background of Study
Micro-finance was introduced in Nigeria in 2005 after a recommendation from the World Bank. The hypothesis that micro-finance reduces poverty and empowers women has been a contentious issue in the academic and the public domain. The validity of the claim that micro-credit empowers women through poverty reduction has been questioned (Schicks, 2010 and Schmidt, 2010).
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).
Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Role of Microfinance in Empowering Women Entrepreneurship.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Women 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.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to scrutinize the Role of Microfinance in Empowering Women Entrepreneurship. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To explore various determinants of women empowerment.
- To evaluate the empowerment of Nigerian women entrepreneurship in Lagos as a result of participating in micro-finance programmes.
- To analyze the role of microfinance in improving decision making power of women at domestic level as compared to other social determinants.
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 the empowerment of Nigerian women entrepreneurship in Lagos increase the participation of micro-finance programmes?
- What are the various determinants of women empowerment?
- What are the roles of microfinance in improving decision making power of women at domestic level as compared to other social determinants?
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: Empowerment of Nigerian women entrepreneurship in Lagos State does not enhance the participation of micro-finance programmes
- H1: Empowerment of Nigerian women entrepreneurship in Lagos State enhances the participation of micro-finance programmes
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.
1.8 Scope of Study
The study focuses on the Role of Microfinance in Empowering Women Entrepreneurship using Lagos State as a case study.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- 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.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- 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).
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.
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