Entrepreneurial Identity and Self-Efficacy Among Female Science and Technology Graduates in Northern Nigeria

This study empirically examines the entrepreneurial identity development and self-efficacy of female science and technology graduates from universities in Northern Nigeria, investigating the psychological and social processes through which gender and educational specialisation interact to shape or constrain entrepreneurial self-perception and venture intention. Northern Nigeria has among the lowest rates of female tertiary education in the country, and female science and technology graduates represent a small but growing population whose entrepreneurial potential in knowledge-intensive sectors remains significantly underexplored and undersupported. The study employs a sequential mixed-methods design, beginning with a survey of 160 female science and technology graduates from Bayero University Kano and Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, measuring entrepreneurial self-efficacy, entrepreneurial identity, and venture intention. In-depth interviews with 20 participants selected for diversity of outcome profile follow. Structural equation modelling tests the hypothesised relationships among the quantitative constructs, while phenomenological analysis of the interviews enriches the understanding of identity development processes. Findings confirm a significant positive relationship between entrepreneurial identity centrality and entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and between self-efficacy and venture intention. Social legitimacy barriers, including family and community norms about appropriate economic roles for educated women in Northern Nigeria, moderate the self-efficacy-to-intention relationship, reducing its strength significantly for respondents from more traditional household backgrounds. Role model exposure is identified as the strongest protective factor against social legitimacy barriers. Keywords: entrepreneurial identity, self-efficacy, female graduates, Northern Nigeria, science and technology.