ABSTRACT
This study evaluates entrepreneurial development initiatives and
micro enterprise sustenance in Awka metropolis. The objective of this
study is to determine the entrepreneurial initiatives that can sustain
micro enterprises, to investigate the extent entrepreneurial initiatives
can reduce unemployment and to identify the challenges of
entrepreneurial development initiatives on micro enterprise sustenance,
the survey research method of investigation was adopted in this research
work. The study used primary and secondary source of data, data for
this research work were collected using questionnaires and personal
interviews on micro enterprises, data collected were analyzed using
descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution and simple
percentages. Findings and recommendations were made most of the micro
entrepreneurs have 2-5 workers working for them ad are basically and
mostly into service business. There years of business experience are 1-3
years and most of them started their businesses through you-win
initiatives, entrepreneurial initiatives help to reduce un-employment.
Government initiatives such as NDEP,BOI YES and YOU-WIN programmes
should be sustain to help in sustaining entrepreneurial development,
consistent entrepreneurial training and support should regularly be
organize for micro-entrepreneurs in order to fast-track and help them
grow from strength to strength.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. BACKGROUND OF STUDY
In recent times entrepreneurs have been referred to as necessary
pre-requisite to mobilize capital exploit natural resources and create
markets to carry on trade (Harbison & myers 2004). Entrepreneurs are
agents who perform a vital role in the economic growth of a country and
are linked to the overall industrial development of a linked tothe
overall industrial development of a nation, some of this characteristics
are risk-takers, decision-maker, perseverance, organizers and planner,
innovative function, and Gap filling ability.
However, successive government in Nigeria has introduced various
entrepreneurial developments. These programmes include Family Economic
Advancement programmes (FEAP) Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAP)
Green Revolution Programme (GRP) National Economic Empowerment and
Development Strategy (NEEDS) at national level, State Economic
Empowerment and Development Strategy (SEEDS) at state level and Local
Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (LEEDS) at local
government level, Poverty Alleviation Programme (PAP), and most
recently, the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP). These
programmes failed to achieve their objectives because of poor design; it
was in realization of the scenario that the Federal Government of
Nigeria announced the inclusion of entrepreneurial education in higher
institutions of learning as a way of promoting entrepreneurial spirit
among Nigeria youths to take up self employment. This has led to the
launching of programmes such as youths enterprise with innovation plan
aimed at job creation and micro enterprises by encouraging band
supporting aspiring entrepreneur youth in Nigeria to develop and execute
business ideas (Flippo E 2008), micro enterprises is a relative concept
because t varies among countries and within a particular country per
time. For instance, a small or medium size enterprise in an advanced
country like United State of America or Britain can be considered a
large scale industry in Nigeria (Ogundele 2002). National Economic
Reconstruction Fund (NERF) sees micro/cottage enterprise as the smallest
carder in the level of business range with a maximum capital of
N1,000,000.00 (one million naira) and maximum labour of ten. Small and
Medium Enterprise Development Association of Nigeria (SMEDAN) helps to
promote Entrepreneurship culture through initiative that build business
confidence, positive attitude, pride in success, support and
encouragement of new ideas, social responsibility, providing inter firm
linkage and promotion of research and development. Finally, since
entrepreneurship Nigeria is assumed to play a role of solving the
problem of employment generation, facilitators of Economic recovery,
National Development and poverty reduction stakeholders must come to
agreement on entrepreneurial development initiatives because it is a
harbinger of economic reconstruction and transformation (ihua, 2009).
1.2. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The increasing incidence of poverty in Anambra State was in spite of
the various resources and efforts exerted on poverty related and micro
enterprises programmes and schemes, in the country. This suggests that
the programmes and schemes were ineffective and ineffectual, despite the
huge resource invested in them. It is either the government is playing
politics to their initiatives y laying lip services to the programmes,
thereby making its existence only in theory, or not supporting the plan
with enough resources. However, some government officials misappropriate
the limited resources, enriching themselves and entrepreneurship cannot
be developing in isolation with the right policies and opportunities
that serves as engine room for its growth.
It is a known fact that poverty constitutes an obstacle to rapid
economic development in the state. Poverty is also directly responsible
for the crimes in the city as well as rural areas and manifest itself in
prostitution, thuggery, exposure to risk, corruption, robbery and fund
(popularly called 419), street life, drugs and so n. This is as a result
of unfulfilled aspirations result from unemployment, lack of adequate
access to resources to start-up micro businesses (Osemeke, 2012).
1.3. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The broad objective of the study is to examine Entrepreneurship
development initiatives and micro-enterprises sustenance in Awka
Metropolis, Anambra State.
The specific objectives of the study are:
- Determine the entrepreneurial initiatives that can sustain micro-enterprises.
- Investigate the extent entrepreneurial initiatives can reduce unemployment.
- Identify the challenges of entrepreneurial development initiatives on micro enterprises sustenance.
1.4. RESEARCH QUESTION
- To know whether entrepreneurial initiatives can help to reduce unemployment.
- To know to a very large extent how entrepreneurial initiatives can sustain micro enterprise.
1.5. HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY
H0: Entrepreneurial initiatives do not influence the development of micro enterprise in Awka Metropolis.
H1: Entrepreneurial and initiatives influences the development of micro-enterprise in Awka Metropolis.
1.6. SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study will cover entrepreneurial development initiatives and
micro-enterprise sustenance in Awka Metropolis for the year 2016.
1.7. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study will be of great benefit to micro entrepreneurs in their
business, it will provide them with basic information about
entrepreneurial initiatives and how they affect their business. It will
give them full information on:- entrepreneurial initiatives and how
micro-enterprises can be sustained. This research work will be to an
extent provide the youth a path-way to entrepreneurship development by
giving them full information on how it can help reduce unemployment. It
will provide the government with full information on the needs and
problems of entrepreneurial development initiatives for
micro-enterprises.
Finally, it will serve as a source of reference to readers and researchers who will be interested in writing a related topic.
1.8. DEFINITION OF TERMS
- Entrepreneurship: entrepreneurship is an undertaking in
which one is involved in the task of creating and managing an
enterprise for a purpose (Ogudele 2004).
- Entrepreneur: they are agents who performs a vital role in
the economic growth of a country and are linked to the overall
industrial development of a nation (Harbison & myers 2004).
- Micro-enterprise: it is a business range with a maximum labour of Ten (NERFUND).
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Ihua ( 2009) Entrepreneurship, Economic Development And Reconstruction
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Nigeria. International Journal of Business and Social Science