Nigeria. The Cochran sample size determination technique was used to obtain the sample size of 385 respondents.

Bowley's allocation formula was adopted to determine the sample size of each North-Central state while simple

random and purposive sampling was used to select participants. The questionnaires were structured in a 5-point

Likert scale as a validity and reliability test was conducted to ensure their credibility. Data retrieved were analyzed

using descriptive and inferential statistics via the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version

25 statistical tool. The results of the regression analysis validated the data at a 0.05 significance level. The findings

revealed that socio-cultural expectations, exceptional economic support, social networking, innovation, and self-

efficacy have a significant effect on the growth of educational institutions in North-Central Nigeria. Hence the

study concludes that female entrepreneurial experience adversely affects the growth of educational institutions and

start-ups in North-Central Nigeria. The study recommends that good government policies geared towards equal

1 Introduction

Currently, emerging literature has unequivocally

acknowledged female entrepreneurship as the fastest-

growing category of entrepreneurship globally, [1].

In [2] a report extracted from 59 countries’

economies, disclose that the global Total

Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) was 10.2 % for

women and 3.4 % for men. Also, out of scrutinized

start-ups across 59 countries, 6.2 % are possessed by

driven women-led businesses prevalent in high-

income economies, [2]. Nigeria is in 43rd position

continue, which to a large extent determine the

overall industrial competitiveness.

Besides the fact that the industry remains largely

players. Although these factors affect the players

(particularly, male and female) separately, [4],

however, the preponderance of mainstream

entrepreneurship literature pays less attention to

female entrepreneurial experience despite the

growing female population and the positive trajectory

of female entrepreneurs, nationally, continental, and

globally, [3]. Nevertheless, inspecting the connection

between female entrepreneurship experiences cum

start-ups stands relevant for a sturdy and all-inclusive

Mostly, researchers contend that the picture ascribed

to business people is masculine. Throughout the long

term, the business has been characteristically

emphatically connected with manly attributes and

contrarily connected with ladylike ones, [8], [4].

Therefore, the easiness of special support for female

entrepreneurs in Nigeria is nearly meager asides from

the prevalent allocation to entrepreneurs in Nigeria.

The female constitutes about 48 % of the Nigerian

workforce despite having to juggle work with family

[12].

Furthermore, researchers stress the significance of

social networking to invigorate businesses. However,

social networks are mostly gender-oriented [13],

[14], [15], [16]. In actuality, some researchers, [12],

found that women do not utilize their network

contacts successfully like men. Observably, there is

long-standing proof that women-led business does

not actively partake in the networks that offer

such help for their male partners. [17] noted that this

equal privileges and opportunities between male and

female entrepreneurs, without bias and sentiments of

limited performance. Practically, this study adds

overall economic development. Although

empowering women for entrepreneurship purposes is

an activity supported by governments in view of the

fact that they are nation-builders, however, in

practice, almost no serious attention is given to x-ray

the female entrepreneurial experience, [13].

Methodologically, there are contributions made by

this study to advance the field of female

entrepreneurship in Nigeria. Although there are

notable scholarly attempts made to unravel the

entrepreneurship and are all states-specific, [26].

However, this study employed a cross-state

methodology by focusing on the seven states of the

north central region of Nigeria and focused on

various popular measures (sociocultural, special

economic supports, social networking, risk-taking

propensity, innovation, and self-efficacy) of the

female entrepreneurship experience, and even

introduced government entrepreneurship policies (as

control variable), in an attempt to examine their

theoretical framework, and formulated hypotheses.

The second aspect showcases the methodology and

model specification while the third and fourth section

reveals the results and conclusion respectively.

government opted to amplify enabling platforms for

business-minded women.

In the same vein, the article [36] investigated the

the sustenance of informal women entrepreneurs is

entirely on agriculture and allied activities. As

economic operators, their operations were

characterized by poor resource situations orchestrated

by capital inadequacy, which culminated in the

development of informal women's cooperative and

micro-credit societies. According to other findings

made by [36], NGOs are still the major financial

backbone of informal women’s cooperatives. The

further quantitative result indicated that credit repaid

entrepreneurs’ accessibility to growth capital and

socio-economic development in Sokoto state.

Analysis was done using logistic regression and

findings show that a significant affiliation exists

between socio-cultural constraints and the

incapability of women entrepreneurs to secure

growth capital in Sokoto State. It was further

uncovered that women entrepreneurs found it

problematic to secure capital via formal financing

institutions due to strict acquiescence with collateral

in the South-Western geo-political zones of Nigeria.

Personal interview was also granted. Data

examination was accomplished using simple %age,

mean, chi-square, and linear Regression. The results

uncovered that female entrepreneurial inclusion has a

tremendous mark on sustainable economic

development. The results invariably stipulated that a

large number of women have been strengthened via

voting in elections, having accessibility to education,

as they thrived from empowerment coaching.

women's enterprises, particularly home-based

enterprises.

However, the authors in [42] assessed entrepreneurial

determinants of women's entrepreneurial

development. However, the scholar postulated that

governments are to establish beneficent amenities

and an encouraging business atmosphere to expand

women's entrepreneurship development. A similar

result was put forward by [24] on entrepreneurial

innovativeness and women entrepreneurs’

performance.

The scholars in [43] investigated how human and

financial capital influence women entrepreneurs’

financial capital has a significant positive effect on

business performance. This implies that human and

financial capital critically determines women's

entrepreneurial performance. Consequently, the

government and relevant authorities were advised to

provide human and financial capital assistance to

female-run businesses.

Similarly, the authors in [44] examined women

entrepreneurs in a patriarchal society using

sociocultural perceptions of women in a beer parlor

respondents’ age, educational level, marital status as

well as religious connection and dictum towards

women in the beer parlor business. Also, it was found

that most women in the beer parlor business were

perceived negatively (viewed as prostitutes and

husband-snatchers) by most female respondents

compared to the majority of the male respondents

who perceived them as business women. The

findings further revealed that clerics of the two major

religions in the country have different perceptions

data and findings indicate that inadequate training

and shortage of accessibility of start-up capital

including weak familial support emerged as the

concentrated only on the south-western states in

Nigeria, whereas this study focused on north-central,

Nigeria.

Specifically, in [47] they assessed the motivational

patterns of women entrepreneurs in SMEs in Nigeria

using 376 questionnaires. Data analysis was done by

exhausting simple statistical techniques (tables and

%ages) and descriptive statistics. Findings show that

the personal peculiarities of women entrepreneurs

have an impact on their performance. It also shows

dissonant gender roles, and inter-relation with people

were the core social factors that impede

entrepreneurs.

Furthermore, the authors in [48] questioned how

entrepreneurship development influences women

graduates. 190 copies of structured questionnaires

were administered to women selected from the

National Centre for Women Development in Abuja.

Descriptive analysis was employed to interpret the

data. It was discovered that different skills training

should step-up entrepreneurial support for women so

as to enhance their entrepreneurial activities. This

study largely focused on training and the usefulness

of the knowledge gained from training. Clearly, the

study did not address the women's entrepreneurial

variables that formed the focus of this study.

Empirically, the scholars in [49] investigated

moderating effect of competence on women

entrepreneurs’ assertiveness and their social

performance. 103 copies of structured questionnaires

secondary education. At the tertiary level, the

classification includes university and non-university

sectors with the latter consisting of polytechnics,

and is viewed as an essential layer. Despite the fact

that it is easily proven wrong to say which of

primary, secondary, post-secondary, and advanced

education sub-systems is the main, no one will differ

that primary education is the stage disparaged by a

lot of students. Though not all recipients of primary

education get to different levels, all recipients of

different degrees of education should initially go

through primary schools. After the successful

completion of primary education, the next

Junior secondary stage: This is the initial three years

of secondary education. The curriculum at this stage

is pre-professional and scholastic in degrees. Pre-

professional and non-prevocational subjects make up

the curriculum. At this stage, the subjects are English

Language, Mathematics, French, and a significant

Nigerian language besides Environment, Basic

Science, Social Studies, Citizenship Education, and

Basic Technology. The pre-professional subjects

incorporate Agricultural Science, Business Studies,

performance during the Continuous Assessment (CA)

including the Junior School Certificate Examination

(JSCE) result, composed by State Ministries of

Education or Federal Ministry of Education

(whenever possessed by the Federal Government). A

child with the least number of passes in the subjects

in the curriculum including English Language and

Mathematics (changes across the States) meets all

requirements to continue to the Senior Secondary

Women Entrepreneurs in Northern Nigeria

A typical trait of business firms in men-centric social

orders is the staggering attitudinal response towards

for employee modern relations in firms managing the

two genders. Profoundly manly societies on the

planet today incorporate Austria and Japan, though

Sweden is mostly viewed as a women's activist

society, [24]. Most Hausa/Fulani states are male-

centric with solid paternalistic propensities, in which

men who are the family gatekeepers, ensure the

provision of monetary and social security to their

women-counterpart, [59]. Functional Islamic

scientific categorizations and Hausa social morals

[17].

Gender role socialization in the Hausa community

frequently commences at a youthful age; ranging

between three to four years, [23]. The cultural

comprehension of women's economic role emanates

from sociocultural and religious teachings.

Occasionally, satisfactorily secured women are

reluctant to work in the 'open economy', since female

work in a plant, for example, could be viewed as an

irregularity. The social and religious necessities of

submissiveness, [61].

This study adopts the Feminist-Based

Entrepreneurship Theory. Specifically, a liberal

feminist is adopted because it stresses the need for

equal provision of access to essential entrepreneurial

resources for the competitive growth of female-

owned entrepreneurs. The liberal feminist theory

argues from an essentialist perspective because it

local area, and business), [46]. Though these do not

suggest that women entrepreneurs are less viable than

men, however, their entrepreneurial approaches (to

entrepreneurs have no significant effect on the

growth of educational institution start-ups in North-

Central Nigeria.

H2: The existence of a special economy for female

entrepreneurs has no significant effect on the growth

of educational institution start-ups in North-Central

Nigeria.

H3: Social Networking pattern of female

entrepreneurs has no significant effect on the growth

of educational institution start-ups in North-Central

institution start-ups in North-Central Nigeria.

H6: The self-efficacy of female entrepreneurs has no

significant effect on the growth of educational

institution start-ups in North-Central Nigeria.