Nigerian Women Entrepreneurial Leaders: A Narrative Literature Review

Abstract

Current management scholarship needs a deeper understanding of barriers to SME leadership among women entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Women in Nigeria seeking promotion to leadership roles in SMEs continue to seek answers on how to surmount the multiple barriers hampering their leadership aspirations. This review of the extant literature on women entrepreneurs in Nigeria was framed by two concepts developed by African scholars and one concept by a feminist scholar: Mordi, Simpson, Singh, and Okafor’s (2010) concept of women’s entrepreneurial development in Nigeria; Lincoln’s (2012) concept of Nigerian women’s entrepreneurial leadership style; and Eagly and Karau’s (2002) concept of agentic behavior of woman leaders. This synthesis of the knowledge and findings on the topics considered underline a need for further research and evidence on how to more efficiently promote and support women entrepreneurial leaders, for individual and societal benefits as well as economic growth in Nigeria, and developing countries in general.