FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF WOMEN-LED STARTUPS IN LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated the financial performance of women-led start-ups in Lagos State, Nigeria and identifies the challenges and the opportunities that women-led start-ups cope in the entrepreneurship environment. The quantitative research design was used to collect the data of 160 female-owned firms to determine the important financial measures (revenue growth, profitability, business growth, and return on investment) to assess the success of these businesses. It was found that though these start-ups show significant resilience and perceived capacity to grow, their reality of growth and their financial performance is limited by the lack of and easy accessibility to formal funds, inefficiency in operations and the socio-cultural impediments. The asymmetries of power towards informal institutions such as Ajo and Esusu illustrate the problematic nature of women access to institutional finance. Nevertheless, digital instruments, previous experience in the field of entrepreneurship, and capacity-building programs were discovered to moderate the performance just in moderated ways. To address the gaps, the study proposed specific policy interventions, better financial education and responsive financial products to women. This study made a contribution to literature, in that it presents context-sensitive information on the nature of structural and institutional actors involved in determining financial performance of women entrepreneurs in Nigeria, which has implication on realisation of inclusive economic growth and SDG 5.