Global Entrepreneurship, Institutional Voids, and Business Model Innovation Among Nigerian Tech Startups

This study investigates the relationship between institutional voids, global entrepreneurial orientation, and business model innovation among Nigerian technology startups, examining how entrepreneurs in an environment characterised by incomplete markets and weak institutional infrastructure develop internationally competitive business models. Nigeria's technology startup ecosystem has produced notable international success stories in fintech, health-tech, and agri-tech, often through business models that directly address domestic institutional voids and subsequently find applicability in other developing market contexts with similar structural characteristics. The research employs a qualitative multiple case study design, examining twelve Nigerian technology startups with documented international operations or investor bases, collecting data through 45 semi-structured interviews with founders, investors, and ecosystem enablers. The theoretical framework integrates the institutional void entrepreneurship theory, the global entrepreneurial orientation framework, and the business model innovation literature. Cross-case thematic analysis identifies patterns in how institutional void environments stimulate business model experimentation and international scalability. The study specifically examines how Nigerian tech startups have converted infrastructural deficits in payments, logistics, healthcare delivery, and agricultural market information into internationally replicable platform business model innovations that serve similar institutional void contexts across Africa and in diaspora communities. Findings are expected to reveal that institutional void navigation is a distinctive source of competitive advantage for Nigerian tech startups in similar developing economy markets. Contributions advance the institutional void entrepreneurship literature and provide practical business model design insights for technology investors and ecosystem builders. Keywords: institutional voids, entrepreneurship, business model innovation, Nigerian startups, technology