Published Paper Details:

Metaphorically speaking, more women should take the road less travelled, the road here being the road that leads the women to entrepreneurship. Women should act independently, freeing themselves from the conformity of most women who for reasons best known to them choose to avoid the road less travelled. This is strange considering that in our country, many women have made it to the top weathering storms that have their origins in our patriarchal society which has spawned patriarchal power. The resultant patriarchal values have permeated through our society, often placing our society under the domination of men, in every sphere of economic activity. Stakeholders like banks look for the non-existent man behind the women who approach them for financing their bankable projects. Banks are suppliers of the most vital component, namely capital, to the enterprise. Sadly, women entrepreneurs have to bend over backwards to convince the banker of the financial viability of their enterprise. To make things worse, women have to juggle lots of different things, for example their enterprise and their family. As a result, the sword of Damocles hangs precariously over the heads of women entrepreneurs all the time. This is the default setting under which most women embrace entrepreneurship in our country. The researcher interacted with stakeholders like women entrepreneurs and experts to find ways and means of promoting women entrepreneurship in this backdrop. Her interaction with the said stakeholders led her to conclude that the present-day women are better placed to access capital and various government incentives to commence and grow entrepreneurial activities. However, they have to be reskilled and / or upskilled to exploit the opportunities that the present-day business world offers , including online business. Mentorship with established women entrepreneurs and interaction with peer groups will accelerate the promotion of women entrepreneurship in the country.