One Nigerian “Femtrepreneur”: A Case Study of Virtue in Business

Abstract

For a transition economy, entrepreneurship is one of the activities that contribute greatly to boosting development. Research suggests that business activities run by men and those run by women in Nigeria do not have specific differentiating factors once they are already established (Halkias et al., 2011), nor would the values of men and women entrepreneurs differ much (Fagenson, 1993). In fact, Bruni et al. (2004) raise questions about the unnecessary “othering” of women entrepreneurs, which could end up precisely emphasizing male entrepreneurship as though it were superior. According to Ahl (2006), there is a need for more profound reflection and new directions in research that can give due attention and regard to women entrepreneurs and their distinctive qualities. It is indeed true that an increase in the number of women entrepreneurs would be good for the country’s economic development (Halkias et al., 2011). This could be for many reasons. It could be, for example, that this is a hitherto inadequately tapped resource for national development; Birley et al. (1987) suggest that women are more constant in following through on their business plans. It could be that women have taken a back space for a long time because of cultural considerations that have shaped their involvement in the business space — in Singapore, it would seem that women were rarely allowed to step out of the role culturally assigned to them in that context (Kim and Ling, 2001). These first two possible reasons would indicate that there is room to be filled and it would be good to encourage “femtrepreneurs” to step up and fill it.