Role of Cooperative Societies in Promoting Technopreneurship among Rural Women in Anambra State

Abstract

The study investigated the role of cooperative societies in promoting technopreneurship among rural women in Anambra State. Two research questions guided the study. The descriptive research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised all managers of cooperative societies in Anambra State. Through purposive sampling, the researcher selected 150 managers of cooperative societies in Anambra State. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire developed by the researcher. The instrument was validated by experts in the field. The application of Cronbach Alpha reliability method on the obtained data yielded coefficient value of 0.88 for internal consistency. Data collected from the respondents were analyzed with mean. The findings of the study revealed that the roles of cooperative societies in promoting technopreneurship among rural women in Anambra State are that it empowers women to leverage technology effectively in their entrepreneurial endeavors, creates a conducive environment for women to develop and implement their innovative ideas and provides access to affordable credit facilities among others. The findings also revealed that the strategies that could by applied by cooperative societies in promoting technopreneurship among rural women in Anambra State include organizing training sessions and workshops specifically tailored to empower rural women with technopreneurship skills, offering financial support to rural women entrepreneurs by providing microloans or access to credit facilities and advocating for policies that support and empower rural women in technopreneurship among others. Based on these findings the researcher recommended among others that cooperative societies should organise training sessions and workshops aimed primarily at equipping rural women with entrepreneurial skills.