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EFFECTS OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP TO FAMILY ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT IN IDEMILI SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ANAMBRA STATE

Dept: ENTREPRENEUR File: Word(doc) Chapters: 1-5 Views: 14

Abstract

Entrepreneurship skills is possessed and adequately put into practice will enable Women in Idemili south local government area of Anambra state, to become relevant in the world of work and be able to contribute immensely of their families and societies. These women may be able to provide and sell their goods but they do not have adequate skills that can enable them to do well in their field of endeavor, somehow, they are stagnant, they cannot yield much materially and financially. Idemili south women are mostly farmers and petty traders, very few of the women engage in small scale business enterprises for family sustenance.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the Study

Entrepreneurship is the activities of the entrepreneurs geared towards identifying an innovative idea, to seize an opportunity, mobilize money and management skills, and take calculated risks to open markets for new products, processes and services. (Lankford, 2004) states, entrepreneurship is the process of creating something different with value by devoting the necessary time and assuming the accompanying financial and social risks and reviewing the resolution towards most personal satisfactions. This entrepreneurship is about self-reliance which involves creativity and taking risk. Entrepreneurship involves three important features, namely organization of business production in exchange economy and management of risks.

According to (Cantillon,2011), an entrepreneur is someone who exercises initiative by organizing a venture to take benefit  of an opportunity and as the decision maker, decides what, how much of a goods or service will be produced. (Robert and Reich, 2010), noted that an entrepreneur is a person who organizes and operates a business or businesses taking on financial risk to do so.

Emmanuel (2010), defined entrepreneur as a person who sees opportunities where others do not, he is a visional, a problem solver, a creative genius, an innovator, wealth generator (not money maker), an inventor and one who produces jobs for others. Women entrepreneurship is an important source of employment and economic improvement to family. Family according to Anyakoha (2010), is a group of persons who live together and are united by ties of marriage, blood or adoption.           Steinem (2009), noted that family is a group consisting of parents and children living together in a house. Mbanefo (2012), noted what family is the collective body of persons who live in one house and under one head or manager of a household which include parent, children and servants. Family is a unit of people who are related, living together share a common line of ancestors and share common bonds of love and affection.

An individual or families make many financial decisions every year. These relate to a wide range of financial matters such as decisions on how to budget, how much to spend and to save, where to invest their money, how to manage other financial risk, how much debt they may need to fund other expenditure and what form that debt should take, (Hopkins  2009).

Moris (2009), noted that in a world of escalating financial complexity, there is an increasing need for financial knowledge and at least basic financial risks. The ability to make well informed financial decision play an important part in the ability of individuals to manage their financial affairs in business enterprise. The outcomes of financial decisions have significant implication for entrepreneur’s financial security and standard of entrepreneurship venture. A person with a good level of financial literacy is likely to be better placed than someone without skills and knowledge to manage their financial affairs prudently. An entrepreneur with adequate financial and accounting skills is more likely to budget effectively invest wisely and manage, her entrepreneurship business in a sustainable manner.

Financial literacy is important at several levels. It has major implications for the welfare of individuals in the management of their financial affairs. It affects the behavior of family resource management and hence has implication for financial stability. And it influences the allocation of resource (human, physical, material and financial resources) in the real economy and longer-term potential growth rate of the economy of a family.

The important role that business and entrepreneurship play in stimulating economic activity, creating jobs, alleviating poverty and uplifting living standards has been recognized internationally as well as in Africa ( Vuuren and Groenewald,2009). Nigeria is a developing country with high unemployment rates, low level of formal and higher education. The migration of individuals from rural areas to cites, corporate restructuring and government policies and regulations means enforce the restructuring of larger organizations. Nigeria thus has an urgent need for women entrepreneurs, who can act as a tool to combat unemployment (Mass and Herrington, 2011). An entrepreneur should be self confident, that is she or he should believe in her or himself, be self-reliant innovative and creative hardworking be a goal setter, and able to take risks from financial investment to marketing men and women can become entrepreneurs. Globally women own twenty to thirty percent (20-30%) of small to medium business enterprise (Delmar 2011).

Women entrepreneurship therefore, represents one of the most important job option for women especially women in developing countries Common Wealth Business Women’s Network (CBWN),(Dahlgren,2004). Women entrepreneurship is an important source of employment and potential to family and growth. Women are also responsible for nearly two third of world wilder consumer spending leading corporations are seeking competitive advantage by including more women value chains to better serve and understand their customers, moreover women tend to spend more of their earned income than men on the health and education of their families by yielding significant social impact future gains in productivity and human growth. Women have become stakeholders, successors, managers, policy makers, business owners in the society. Stakeholder women have a vested interest in the firm through stock or partnership holdings. Women entrepreneurs provide labour to the business in an ongoing manner and receives compensation succession, or the next in line position has provided many women the top slot in a family business.

Frishkoff and Brown (2001), noted that women take an active role in the family upbringing especially when involved in active entrepreneurship business enterprise.

Entrepreneurship has become an important issue among women in Nigeria at various levels, both in urban and the rural areas due to poverty. The women of middle class families who have always lived restricted lives have ventured into wealthier creating profession as a challenge and an adventure into a new world of economic ability through entrepreneurship. On the other hand, many women have now taken up entrepreneurship and become business women to earn a living, improve economic status and raise the standards of their family living. Entrepreneurship also form in their careers and become professionals. Entrepreneurship   helps women to establish their rights through the development of a sector and thereby contribute towards the progress of the society and the nation. Based on the above facts this study investigates the contribution of women entrepreneurship to family economic empowerment in Idemili south local government area of Anambra state, Nigeria.