LASU Journal of Employment Relations and Human Resource Management
(LJERHRM)
ISSN: 2705-3482
Volume 5, No. 2, 2025
Pages 169-183
DOI: 10.36108/ljerhrm/5202.50.0201
Marital Partnerships Entrepreneurial Ventures in Lagos State: Issues, Benefits, and Prospects
Taofiq Omotayo ODUOLA, PhD
National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru-Jos. Plateau State, Nigeria
Samuel Ayodeji OMOLAWAL, PhD
Department of Sociology, Faculty of the Social Sciences, University of Ibadan, Ibadan. Nigeria
Oyesola ANIMASHAUN, PhD
Faculty of Law, Kwara State University, Malete, Nigeria
Abstract
Jointly owned enterprises, co-financed and managed by married couples, constitute a large proportion of the informal sector businesses, especially in less-developed countries. The contribution of these enterprises to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employment opportunities of the respective national economies is enormous. Hence, the study was conducted to investigate the peculiar issues, challenges, and prospects of business ventures jointly owned, financed, and managed by married couples in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive research design and was purely qualitative in nature. The study population comprised couples’ co-owned and managed business ventures. A total of 40 such ventures were selected for the study, using records from the Corporate Affairs Commission and snowballing methods. The study revealed that apart from the general benefits of entrepreneurship, such as provision of means of livelihood, regular incomes, and employment, business ventures owned by couples have other unique benefits, which include the enablement of couples to experience work-life balance as they are in charge of their work schedules and family life without the strict rules of any formal system. They also provide couples with the opportunity to be jointly responsible for the upbringing of their children in terms of school runs, homework, and close monitoring. The study also revealed that such businesses are effectively controlled, thereby reducing incidents of theft and other nuances of informal sector employees. It is concluded that married couples’ jointly owned and managed enterprises provide unique benefits to the owners compared with other entrepreneurial ventures. Stakeholders such as government, NGOs, and couples should pay attention to jointly owned businesses as a way of strengthening businesses, families and the marriage institution.
Keywords: Married Couples, Co-ownership and Co-managed Enterprises Issues, Benefits and Prospects