CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
Women’s status in any society is perhaps different from that of their male counterparts and this may be destined naturally. This perception could possibly provide some basic explanations on the reason for the different role expectations from men and women in the society. Women are seen as inseparable from the family and most functions of housekeeping in the family are assigned to them. In the first instance, women are generally considered as main careers of the family (Tisdell, 2002; O’Connell, 1994). In most cases the income of the head of household normally determines the economic wellbeing of the entire family members. When family lives in poverty, the women usually suffers most (Tisdell, 2002) and that affects significantly the welfare of the children.
It is in fact more devastating if the children are teenagers who cannot partake in any job or productive economic activity. In some instances, the women play important roles in poverty reduction of their immediate families especially if the income of the husband is very meager to cater for the family’s basic needs. They actually play a complementary role in the fight against poverty in most countries especially in developing or low income countries. Some studies reveal that the increasing rate of women participation in entrepreneurship is due to increase economic pressure and perhaps awareness as a result of increasing level of education (Tambunan, 2008).
Due to these reasons and other challenges, women begin to partake in entrepreneurial activity to uplift and empower themselves both socially and economically. The role of women is increasingly being recognized in every part of the world (Winn, 2005). It is worth acknowledging that businesses owned by women entrepreneurs are one of the fastest growing entrepreneurial activities in the world (Brush, 2009). Women across the world began to make significant impact by turning themselves into entrepreneurs instead of being mothers only.
Promoting women entrepreneurship development demands more attention to be focused upon issues that restrict women entrepreneurs. Information on gender issues will help with the implementation of supportive practices and programmes for monitoring and evaluating the challenges facing women entrepreneurs in developing economies and the best way to meet their needs. More emphasis from several researchers such as Odoemene (2003) and Mansor (2005) has been placed on the effect of psychological and economic factors on their entrepreneurial development. Few studies have focused on the environmental factors that are likely to affect the participation in business. In Nigeria, there is still a case to be made on the impact of environmental factors on the female entrepreneurs. The focus of this paper is to examine challenges and prospects of women entrepreneurs in alleviating poverty Ika Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria.
1.2 Statement of the problem
Women entrepreneurship is a relatively new phenomenon in Nigeria. With growing recognition that women have unique talent, which could be harnessed for development, and for creating employment opportunities for others who are not suited to non-entrepreneurial carriers, developing women as entrepreneurs has become an important part of nation development planning and strategies. Shane (2003) stated that entrepreneur’s ability to discover and exploit opportunity for entrepreneurial activity differs between individuals and depends on individual’s attitude towards risk taking. Women, however, are very often excluded from participation in entrepreneurial activities because most African traditions regard them as subordinate to men regardless of their age or educational status. In Nigerian culture, the traditional female role is still highly regarded and such qualities as subservience, supportiveness, and submissiveness meet with approval. The aim of this paper is to examine the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in poverty alleviation in Ika Local Government Area and as well proffer solutions to these challenges.
1.3 Object of the Study
The main objective of the survey is to identify the main challenges and constraints confronting women entrepreneur in poverty alleviation in Ika local Government.
1.4 Research questions
The study addresses the following areas
- What are the characteristics of female business owners in Ika rural area of Akwa Ibom state Nigeria
- Has the establishment of female owned enterprises and businesses help alleviate poverty in Akwa Ibom.
- What are the challenges of female entrepreneurs and its possible solutions?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
This study would be guided by the following hypothesis
H0: Participation in SMEs by female does not improve the standard of living.
H1: Participation in SMEs by female improves the standard of living
1.6 Limitation of the Study
Some factors may limit the level of accuracy and reliability of this study. Factors include:
i. Difficulty in obtaining data
ii. Low response rate from individual parties.
iii. Financial constraints
In the absence of the above mentioned limitations, all other errors and omissions are entirely those of the researcher.
