Social Networking and Women Entrepreneurial Participation in Sokoto State-North West Nigeria

Abstract

The study is a sectorial assessment of the influence of social networks on women entrepreneurial participation in Sokoto State. From five sectors (wholesale & retail, agriculture, education, manufacturing and processing, and hotel/restaurant/recreation) a sample of 343 women entrepreneurs were purposively selected and the multinomial logistic regression was utilized to test the study hypothesis. Findings indicate varying degrees of influence of social networks in predicting women entrepreneurial participation in the five sectors. Interestingly, social network variables i.e. Networking meeting format and whether individual attend social network meeting significantly account for women entrepreneurial participation in some key sectors, entrepreneurial capability was found to have negative influence in only one sector but other social network variables, perceived value, and free flow of social network information do not have influence on women entrepreneurial participation in all the sectors examined. It follows that to enhance entrepreneurial participation among women policy makers should redirect enterprise support to social networking associations to facilitate optimal production and economic development.