University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School June 2020 “Placing our breasts on a hot kerosene lantern”: A Critical Study of Microfinancialization in the Lives of Women Entrepreneurs in the Informal Economic Sector in Ibadan, Nigeria Olubukola Olayiwola University of South Florida Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the African Studies Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Scholar Commons Citation Olayiwola, Olubukola, "“Placing our breasts on a hot kerosene lantern”: A Critical Study of Microfinancialization in the Lives of Women Entrepreneurs in the Informal Economic Sector in Ibadan, Nigeria" (2020). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/8474 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “Placing our breasts on a hot kerosene lantern”: A Critical Study of Microfinancialization in the Lives of Women Entrepreneurs in the Informal Economic Sector in Ibadan, Nigeria by Olubukola Olayiwola A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Kevin A. Yelvington, D.Phil. Diane Price-Herndl, Ph.D. Fenda Akiwumi, Ph.D. Tara Deubel, Ph.D. Dillon Mahoney, Ph.D. Date of Approval: June 30, 2020 Keywords: Anthropological political economy, transnational feminism, and international development Copyright © 2020, Olubukola Olayiwola Dedication I dedicate this dissertation to my biological parents, Samuel and Josephine Olayiwola Adigun (deceased). Their love, support and prayers could not be held back even by the cold hands of death. With the help of the Almighty God, I have been able to accomplish this very desired height also because you have been there for me; aiding my socialization process and teaching me to always display characters worthy of “Omoluabi” in all my dealings. The source of pride of coming to this world through you (Dearest Mum and Dad) has privileged me to sustain such a rare and genuine academic parenthood both at home (the Ololajulos) and abroad (the Yelvingtons). On this note, I dedicate this dissertation to my non-biological mothers and fathers for their moral supports, including women and men who have helped me one way or the other in my research sites through their timely supports, selflessness, and knowledge. Your contributions are so immeasurable in making a reality the completion of the dissertation fieldwork. Finally, I dedicate this dissertation to my lovely and beautiful daughter, Ewaolamiposi Olayiwola. I hope that you would be proud of me! Acknowledgements Funding for my Ph.D. program in the United States including dissertation fieldwork and writing was supported by the Wadsworth Fellowship. A special thanks to the Wenner-Gren Foundation for the Wadsworth Fellowship. I would like to thank the Foundation’s Judy Kreid for her encouragement and her kindness. I thank the Department of Anthropology (USF) for teaching assistantship throughout the course of study and for providing enabling academic environment to support my career development. I am indeed grateful to my dissertation committee for believing in me. The helpful advice and guidance of my committee was very useful, particularly knowing that they had faith in my ability to write my qualifying exam, and to successfully accomplish both fieldwork and the dissertation provided the necessary motivation to complete this desired accomplishment. I thank my dearest American Mum, Professor Bárbara Cruz (and the entire family) for their love and supports particularly towards my wellbeing and academic career development. Also, I thank many friends and colleagues who encouraged and supported me in various capacities to complete the dissertation. Special mention goes to Laura Leisinger, Laura Kihlstrom, Lisa Armstrong, Matthew Wakhungu, Alex Webb, Caitlyn Carr, Matthew Pajunen, and Bree Gasper to mention only a few. Special thanks to the following individuals and organizations for logistics supports prior to my transitioning to the United States for Ph.D. program: Funmi Adewole Foundation, Mr. Adeyemo (Deputy Governor of Oyo State), Mr. Damola Are, Bolaji Olayiwola, Tosho Akinrinola, Kunle Oluwoye, Tunji Olayiwola, Funmilayo Olure, Kola Olayiwola and Alhaji Oluwoye (Permanent Secretary, Oyo State Ministry of Finance). Thanks to Mrs. Linda Clark, my second American Mum and landlady whose house has been a home away from home and very conducive to complete my dissertation writing. I acknowledge the scholarly supports from the University of Ibadan academic community particularly during the dissertation fieldwork. Special mention goes to Professor Oyelaran, Lawuyi, Ajala, Ololajulo, Ajayi, Tubosun, and Opadeji. Finally, I acknowledge moral supports and encouragements I received from my fiancée, Carla Freeman, all through my stay in the fieldwork and during my dissertation writing. Special thanks to Hester Freeman and Mrs. Gloria-Jean for their moral support, love and care. I am indeed grateful for all. Of course, I acknowledge moral supports from my siblings, especially Mrs. Odunola Okunoye, I know your prayers contribute a lot to my academic success. I love you all. Table of Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ iv List of Tables ...................................................................................................................................v Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... vi Chapter One: Introduction ...............................................................................................................1 The Research Focus and Rationale ......................................................................................4 A Brief History of Financial Institutions in Nigeria ............................................................5 Research Setting: The Ancient City of Ibadan ....................................................................9 Research Questions ............................................................................................................11 Conclusion: Organization of the Dissertation ....................................................................14 Chapter Two: Anthropological Approaches to Women’s Work in the Informal Sector, Petty Commodity Production, and Microfinance ....................................................................16 Introduction ........................................................................................................................16 A Review of Relevant Literature on African Petty Commodity Production and Markets ........................................................................................................................16 The Nature of Relationship Between the Formal and Informal Economic Sector in Nigeria..........................................................................................................................16 Theoretical Approaches to Gender and Development with Emphasis on Women’s Participation in the Informal Economic Sector in sub-Saharan Africa........................17 The Women in Development Approach ..............................................................22 The Gender and Development Approach ............................................................26 The Feminization of Poverty ...............................................................................36 The Feminized Informal Economic Sector: Gender and Microfinance .............................37 Beyond the “Development Approaches”: Engaging Transnational Feminist Theory ..........................................................................................................................43 The Main Theoretical Trends in the Anthropology of Debt and Finance ..........................48 Defining Microfinance: A Critical Perspective .................................................................50 The Nigerian State and the Political Economy of Microfinance .......................................55 Neoliberalism and Microfinance ........................................................................................58 Internationalization of the Grameen Bank Model of Microcredit: Is this Idea Really New? .................................................................................................................61 The Livelihood and Microfinance Approach .....................................................................64 Rotating Credit Associations .............................................................................................67 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................67 Chapter Three: Research Methods .................................................................................................71 Introduction ........................................................................................................................71 i Study Setting