An Investigation into Knowledge, Acceptance and Adoption of Islamic Finance Principles among Women Entrepreneurs in Southwest Nigeria

ABSTRACT
The expansion of Islamic banking and sovereign ṣukūk issuance in Nigeria has not translated into substantial demand-side penetration among women-owned enterprises. This study investigates the persistence of an intention-adoption gap in Islamic finance by examining how cognitive awareness and attitudinal acceptance convert into actual usage within a gendered institutional context. Anchored in an extended behavioral-institutional framework, the study integrates the Theory of Planned Behavior with structural accessibility considerations. Using survey data from 120 women-owned micro and small enterprises across Southwest Nigeria, the analysis applies Ordinary Least Squares and logistic regression techniques to model intention formation and behavioral realization. The findings reveal a pronounced divergence between motivational readiness and effective participation. While attitudinal acceptance strongly predicts adoption intention, cognitive awareness does not exert a significant effect. More critically, adoption intention does not directly translate into usage. Instead, institutional accessibility significantly conditions behavioral conversion, confirming that structural constraints mediate financial participation. The results demonstrate that adoption of Islamic finance among women entrepreneurs is not limited by normative alignment but by institutional reach and operational access. By empirically distinguishing between stated intention and realized behavior, the study advances Islamic finance adoption research beyond attitudinal determinants and situates financial participation within a structurally conditioned framework. The findings underscore the importance of institutional outreach, operational literacy, and gender-responsive financial infrastructure in deepening Islamic financial inclusion in emerging dual banking systems.

Islamic Finance and Women’s Financial Inclusion

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