Mentorship and Network Effects in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Evidence from Women-Led Startups in Nigeria

Abstract

Women-led startups in Nigeria continue to face significant challenges related to access to mentorship, networks, and growth opportunities, despite their increasing contribution to economic development. Existing studies often examine mentorship and networking in isolation, creating a gap in understanding their joint effects within entrepreneurial ecosystems. This study therefore examined the effect of mentorship and networking on the growth of women-led startup enterprises in Nigeria, focusing on revenue growth and employment generation. A quantitative cross-sectional research design was adopted using data from 392 respondents within the Rising Tide Africa ecosystem. The data were analysed using multiple regression techniques to estimate both direct and interaction effects. The findings reveal that mentorship has a positive and significant effect on revenue (β = 0.448, p < 0.01) and employment (β = 0.662, p < 0.001), while networking demonstrates a stronger influence on revenue growth (β = 0.939, R² = 0.327, p < 0.001) and employment generation (β = 1.115, R² = 0.252, p < 0.001). The interaction between mentorship and networking is also positive and significant, indicating a complementary relationship. Based on these results, the null hypotheses were rejected. The study concludes that startup growth is driven by the combined effect of internal capability development and external relational resources. It recommends that entrepreneurial programmes and policymakers prioritize the integration of mentorship and high-quality networking platforms to enhance growth outcomes among women-led startups in Nigeria.