The Challenge of Entrepreneurship in Nigerian Informal Settlements

Most populous of all African nations, Nigeria has one of the highest urban growth rates in the world but with associated rates of poverty. Approximately half of the total population in Nigeria resides in urban areas, and projections indicate that more than 60 per cent will live in urban centres by the year 2025. Hence, rapid processes of urbanisation, linked with poverty, offers distinct challenges for the contemporary and future society. With such a high percentage of unemployment, the establishment of small scale, low cost businesses could provide an opportunity for the urban poor, especially those habiting informal settlements. However, the prevalent culture in Nigeria is to seek employment either in large government or private organisations. Unfortunately, the existing public and private workplaces have not been able to expand to provide employment for the growing population, which has mainly resulted from rural-urban migration. Home-based enterprises have played a major role in developing low-income communities around the world. However, in certain slum areas in Nigeria, there seem to be barriers to this kind of development. Drawing on recent empirical studies conducted by the authors into Nigerian informal settlements, this paper suggests that there is a need for a more robust approach towards the re-orientation of the unemployed and lower-income groups towards entrepreneurship. It argues for more effective capacity-building among communities, as well as greater security in housing through tenancy agreements, and access to water and electricity; which could all encourage the establishment of home-based enterprises as the first step towards an entrepreneurial society. Such an approach would suggest that the particularities of places are given due attention, which challenges some of the presuppositions of place-blind methods.