Advancing Eco-Entrepreneurship in Nigeria through Transformative Implementation of Sustainable Business Model Innovations

This article examines how green and sustainable business innovation can beharnessed to advance a just and inclusive decarbonization and energytransition in Nigeria. As the world strives to transition to net zero by 2050or earlier, the need for business operations to transition from traditionalmodels of operations driven by economic value to a sustainable approach ofenvironmental and social values has become more pressing. As a resource—based economy, Nigeria has made pledges and plans in line with internationalframeworks to transition and grow renewable energy resources. Yet, lack ofclear operational guidelines on effective business strategies needed toeffectively advance eco-entrepreneurship remains a key challenge. Ecoentrepreneurship and eco-ventures such as small-medium scale eco-enterpriseand energy citizens who generate eco-solutions, innovations, services andproducts in renewable energy plays a vital role in economy decarbonizationstrategies. While several studies have highlighted how external factors such asweak or unsupportive governance and policy landscape may hindersuccessful implementation of eco-entrepreneurial activities, what hasremained absent is a holistic evaluation of how lack of internal capacity ofeco-ventures themselves can hinder the successful design and implementationof transformative and sustainable business model that are able to capturebusiness opportunities, address risks and make impactful contributions toglobal sustainability objectives. This article fills a gap in this regard. Drawinglessons from surveyed Nigerian eco-entrepreneurs, this article examinesinternal governance gaps that hinder sustainable business innovation, such asincompatibility of business aims and models; limited internal capacity onESG; unsustainable procurement practices and resource constraints areexamined in order to identify the ways in which integrative sustainablebusiness model innovation can help close these gaps.