Date of Conferral

2020

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Management

Advisor

Judith L. Forbes

Abstract

Women in Nigeria are approximately 50% of the population and operate significantly in the micro, small, and medium enterprises. Women entrepreneurs in Nigeria are experiencing business failure, early exit, stagnant growth, and low return on investment due to inadequate finance. This study’s specific management problem is that many women entrepreneurs in Nigeria lack strategies to develop financial literacy and access to external loans for business sustainability. Using the concepts of financial inclusion and financial exclusion, the purpose of this qualitative inquiry was to explore the strategies women entrepreneurs use and whether they have the required experience and knowledge of financial literacy to access external loans for business sustainability. The research questions sought to understand the strategies that women entrepreneurs in Nigeria use in attaining financial literacy and access to external loans for business sustainability. Data were collected from 15 women entrepreneurs in FCT, Nigeria via semi-structured interview and analyzed using thematic analysis, triangulation, coding, peer debriefing, and member checking. Eight themes emerged: personal financial well-being, knowledge of financial statement, use of consultants on financial statement handling, training and awareness of updated financial standards, loan repayment history, use of competent guarantor, credit bureau report, and historical financial health and cash flow. This study’s findings should be made available to women entrepreneurs in Nigeria and other developing countries to provide strategies that entrepreneurs could use in practice. The implications for social change may bring about poverty reduction, women empowerment, and a better life for women in Nigeria for an improved standard of living.

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