Entrepreneurship and Poverty Reduction among Women in Makarfi Local Government Area, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the effect of entrepreneurship on poverty reduction among women 
entrepreneurs in Mafarfi LGA, Kaduna State, Nigeria. While the poverty in this study is 
measured in monetary terms using average monthly earnings of women entrepreneurs from 
their entrepreneurial activities, the entrepreneurship is measured in terms of its four (4) 
dimensions, which include years of experience in enterprise, ability to create employment, 
monthly average wage bill and the size of enterprise of women entrepreneurs. A sample of 
fifty (50) women entrepreneurs was purposively selected from each of the ten (10) local wards 
of Makarfi LGA, for a total of five hundred (500) women entrepreneurs as the study's sample 
population. In contrast, a total of four hundred and twenty (420) were valid returned 
responses and used for analysis. The study used a survey method to collect data, and 
subsequently, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression was adopted for analysis. 
Consequently, the findings of this study indicate that business size and years of experience in 
the enterprise of women entrepreneurs have positive and significant effects on women 
entrepreneurs' average monthly earnings, whereas employees and the monthly wage bill 
negatively affect their average monthly earnings. In conclusion, entrepreneurship is a 
veritable means of addressing poverty by enhancing the living standards of women 
entrepreneurs in Makarfi LGA, Kaduna State. Therefore, the study's recommendations 
include promoting entrepreneurship among women from a tender age to equip them with 
entrepreneurship skills, thereby fostering enthusiasm to tackle the problem of poverty among 
women in Makarfi LGA, Kaduna State, Nigeria.