Women Entrepreneurship Development And Coping With Early Widowhood In FCT Abuja

This paper takes an empirical perspective to understand the plight of widows in Nigeria and the need for entrepreneurship development as a means of survival. The study attempted to close the gap of observed methodological ambiguity of researches that captures female gender and entrepreneurship development without necessarily identifying them by status of marriage and age. This has become necessary because widows constitute about 1.97% of the country's population and are forced to take the responsibility of providing for their family. Relevant literature has provided both theoretical and conceptual understanding to the study. The sunk- used a mixed method approach. The population oi the study is undetined and constitute:* widows in FCT Abuja. The study sample is 60 and was determined using Top-man lbrmuia for sample size determination. The authors used a purposive and convenience sampling technique in selecting participants for the survey. The instrument for the study is a self-design questionnaire using the likert scale format and interview schedule. The sensitivity of the study made the researchers ensure that ethical consideration and willingness to partake in the stud) formed a basis for selection. The study adopted a content validity for the instruments and Cronbach alpha method of internal consistency was used to determine the reliability of the questionnaire. Reliability coefficient between .70 and .89 was obtained for the variables of the study. Data analysis was carried out using multiple regression and content and thematic analysis with the aid of SPSSv21 and Nvivo 11 respectively. The study found out that women who are engaged in entrepreneurial activities before the death of their husbands were less maltreated by their in-law after the demise of their husband, as the in-laws are afraid of their economic empowerment. The study therefore recommends among others that widows should be supported in the creation of new ventures.