Contextual entrepreneurship and gender: The case of Nigeria in relation to developed countries

Abstract

Purpose: There is a need to better understand the impact of different contexts depending on their economic and social development on women’s entrepreneurial experience, that is how belonging to certain cultures may affect women entrepreneurs’ experiences differently.

Design/methodology/approach: Using interviews, this research explores the narratives of 35 women entrepreneurs in Nigeria (sub-Saharan Africa) in a context of scarcity and where the burden of care and support falls on women. It is important to understand how entrepreneurs feel and think about the barriers and catalysts they have encountered and their identity in specific contexts.

Findings/results: In Nigeria, the discourse around women entrepreneurship revolves around personal characteristics that women should emphasise, such as self-confidence, self-efficacy and determination. Therefore, they build their identity in a communitarian and pluralistic way, which is not common in developed countries that are more individualistic.

Practical implications: We cannot assume that a developed world perspective, however dominant, is well-equipped to explain entrepreneurship everywhere. In developing countries, women still must fight for their legitimacy as entrepreneurs, while in developed countries women show greater agency in trying to counteract the gendered construction of entrepreneurship.

Originality/value: The article follows calls in the literature, specifically that dealing with women’s entrepreneurship, to contextualise the analysis, focus on developing countries and use a qualitative approach.