Women Entrepreneurs as Small- Medium Enterprise (sme) Operators and Their Roles in Socio-economic Development in Ota, Nigeria

This research study examined the impact of women entrepreneurs on the economy of Ota, Nigeria. It sought to find the roles and contributions of women small and medium scale enterprise (SME) operators to the development of the city. One hundred and fifty copies of questionnaire were administered out of which one hundred and forty six were retrieved for analysis. Data collected were analysed using simple frequency tables and regression analysis. The results revealed that the extent to which the variance in poverty level can be explained by the activities of women entrepreneurs is 32.3% i.e. (R 2 =.323), F=16.790, and p≤ 0.001. This shows that the activities of women entrepreneurs have a significant effect on poverty level in Ota Ogun State Nigeria. Nevertheless, the paper also discovered that a lot of women are uneducated; as far as business technicalities are concerned. The authors recommend that State Government should encourage women in entrepreneurial activities and provide sound conducive business environment for women through provision of infrastructural facilities such as power supply, good roads, water and micro credit that will enhance women‟s participation in business. Copyright © IJEBF, all rights reserved.