Perceived Challenges and Strategies for Improvement in Rural Women Entrepreneurship Ventures in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area, Enugu State, Nigeria

This study focused on the challenges and strategies for improvement in rural woman entrepreneurship ventures in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area, Enugu State, Nigeria. Two research questions guided the study. Descriptive survey design was used. The population of the study comprised all the registered women entrepreneurs in Amalgamated Traders’ Association (AMATA) at Eke Aku and Ogbede Markets while the sample was 120 literate women entrepreneurs selected through purposive sampling technique. Questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. Data collected were analyzed with mean. The findings revealed that the challenges of rural women entrepreneurship include inadequate finance, poor education background, family responsibilities, cultural barriers among others. The strategies for ameliorating the challenges include among others, taking more risks, sourcing for adequate business information, giving women proper education, sourcing of credits. One of the recommendations include that microfinance banks should make provision for micro-credits to the rural women at a low interest rate.