Motivating Entrepreneurial Activities to Achieve Sustainable Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

It is largely acknowledged that entrepreneurial activities represent a crucial means for achieving sustainable development, especially in the developing economy. Yet, the percentage of population involved in business start-ups is still very low in Africa compared to other continents including the developed world. Thus, this chapter explores factors motivating entrepreneurial activities among women and men in a developing economy—Nigeria. To do this, we conducted 10 in-depth interviews which were transcribed and thematically analysed using QSR NVivo. The findings revealed that women and men are motivated by different factors. The implication of this finding is that female entrepreneurs should be treated as a homogenous group separate from their male counterparts. Doing this will enable policymakers to design much more effective entrepreneurial policies that encourage entrepreneurial activities that can stimulate sustainable development especially in sub-Saharan Africa.