Psychological empowerment and development of entrepreneurship among women : implications for sustainable economic development in Nigeria

The problem of sustainable economic development in Africa has continued to attract the interest of economic analysts, political commentators and other social scientists. Successive governments in Nigeria and as well the rest of African have adopted several strategies to engender growth and development, but it seems that most of these attempts have not achieved the desired results. Most of the previous development efforts in Africa, including Nigeria, have focused on the political and economic-related issues with little or no reference to psychological factors in development. This paper therefore examines the role of psychological empowerment in development of entrepreneurship among women. It is acknowledged that one major problem of underdevelopment in Nigeria is the issue of unemployment, especially among willing and employable Nigerians. Women have also been seen as very relevant in current development efforts in developing countries and their contributions in wealth creation have been amply documented. It is argued here that women can generate the needed employment and wealth on their own but it may be necessary to empower them psychologically to become successful entrepreneurs. The paper also links entrepreneurship with wealth creation and pointed out the implications of entrepreneurship in sustainable economic development.