Community financing in entrepreneurship: A focus on women entrepreneurs in the developing world

Abstract

Studies on the impact of group–based financing on women entrepreneurs in the developing world are underrepresented in entrepreneurship research. With this exploratory study, we focus on women entrepreneurship from a community financing perspective to account for the underlying mechanisms of a community financing scheme and its impact on women entrepreneurs in the developing world. Data generated by interviewing 75 women entrepreneurs in Nigeria’s gendered financial markets revealed that ‘Ajo’,––a community financing scheme shaped their entrepreneurial journeys, including their social structures. In their context, an overlay of prosocial acts of reciprocity, solidarity, collectivism, camaraderie, and trust underpinned how they pooled and shared financial resources. These findings contribute to our understanding of how women entrepreneurs engaged and interacted with a community financing scheme in their endeavours to promote their businesses in financial markets where gender biases existed. Such an understanding holds academic, policy, and social implications.