This study examined the relationships between socio-economic and cultural factors, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and business performance among women-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in North-Central Nigeria. Using a quantitative cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 529 women entrepreneurs across seven administrative units between March and July 2025, achieving an 88.2% response rate. The study employed descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, and Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) using SPSS version 28.0 and SmartPLS 4.0 to test four hypotheses examining direct and mediation effects. Results revealed that social factors have no significant direct effect on women SMEs’ growth (β = -0.017, p = 0.775), while both economic factors (β = 0.146, p = 0.033) and cultural factors (β = 0.154, p = 0.025) demonstrate significant positive direct effects. Entrepreneurial self-efficacy serves as a significant mediator in all relationships: complete mediation for social factors (β = 0.208, p < 0.000) and partial mediation for both economic (β = 0.333, p < 0.000) and cultural factors (β = 0.258, p < 0.000). These findings align with Social Cognitive Theory, highlighting entrepreneurial self-efficacy as a critical psychological mechanism that transforms environmental conditions into business success. The study recommends that entrepreneurship support programs should prioritise confidence-building interventions alongside environmental improvements to maximise women’s entrepreneurial performance in Nigeria’s challenging business landscape.
Keywords: Cultural Factors, Small and Medium-Enterprises (SMEs), economic factors, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, performance of women's SMEs, social factors
