Soft Skills, Strong Profits: How Training Transformed Women’s Farms in Nigeria

A large study in Nigeria finds that socioemotional skills training, especially in negotiation and perseverance, can raise women’s agribusiness profits by over 50 percent when combined with capital and technical support. However, the gains depend heavily on supportive social norms and do not automatically translate into greater household empowerment.

In Nigeria’s growing agribusiness sector, thousands of young entrepreneurs have received technical training and start-up grants to launch poultry farms, rice mills, fish ponds, and other ventures. But new research suggests that money and machinery are only part of the story. Confidence, negotiation skills, emotional control, and perseverance can be just as important.

A major study led by researchers from Innovations for Poverty Action and the World Bank’s Africa Gender Innovation Lab explored whether socioemotional skills, often called soft skills, can improve business performance. The research was embedded in a large Nigerian government program that already provided entrepreneurs with training and grants worth between 5,000 and 10,000 US dollars. The question was simple: if entrepreneurs also strengthen their personal and social skills, will their businesses perform better?

Testing Two Types of Skills

The study followed 4,500 agribusiness owners across six Nigerian states. Participants were randomly divided into three groups. One group received four days of training focused on interpersonal skills such as negotiation, empathy, collaboration, and communication. A second group received the same interpersonal training plus intrapersonal skills such as perseverance, emotional awareness, self-control, and problem-solving. A third group did not receive any additional socioemotional training.

Interpersonal skills help entrepreneurs deal with customers, suppliers, and workers. Intrapersonal skills help them manage stress, stay motivated, and push through setbacks. By comparing these groups over time, researchers were able to see which skills made the biggest difference.

Eighteen months later, the results showed a clear pattern, especially for women.

Big Profit Gains for Women

Women who received either version of the socioemotional training increased their business profits by more than 50 percent compared to women who did not receive the training. Some women whose businesses had been inactive started earning profits. Others who were already operating saw strong growth.

The improvement was not driven by hiring more workers or dramatically changing record-keeping practices. Instead, it appears that women used stronger negotiation skills, better relationships, and greater persistence to improve productivity and sales. Many reinvested their higher profits into productive assets such as livestock and farming equipment, and they increased their savings.

For men, the results were more selective. Only those who received the combined training, including both interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, saw improvements in profits. Even then, the gains were strongest in communities where social norms were more supportive of women working and earning income.

The Role of Social Norms

One of the most important findings of the study is that social environment matters. Researchers asked participants how many people in their community would disapprove if a woman earned more than her husband. In places where respondents felt there would be little judgment, the impact of the training was much stronger.

In more conservative communities, the profit gains were smaller for both women and men. This suggests that skills alone are not enough. If social norms limit how freely women can operate businesses or interact in markets, the benefits of training may not fully translate into economic success.

Interestingly, women-led businesses hired more female workers after the training, while men-led businesses hired fewer. This suggests some shift in who employs women, although it did not increase overall employment levels.

Growth Without Full Empowerment

Despite large profit gains, women did not report significant increases in decision-making power at home. Their bargaining power and control over household decisions remained largely unchanged. This highlights a key challenge: higher income does not automatically lead to greater empowerment.

However, there were some positive changes at the household level. Both men and women reported better marital satisfaction and improved conflict resolution. Men also reduced spending on temptation goods such as alcohol and cigarettes, slightly strengthening household finances.

The training was relatively inexpensive, costing about 137 US dollars per participant. Given the strong profit increases for women, this suggests that socioemotional training can be a cost-effective addition to government programs.

Technical knowledge and capital are essential, but they are not enough. Strengthening skills such as negotiation, persistence, and emotional awareness can significantly boost business outcomes, especially for women. At the same time, lasting empowerment may require broader efforts to address social norms that shape how those skills are used.