Abstract
The growth of business in our society is prevalent hence, the researcher decided to carry out a study using Emohua. The researcher study was on the growth of entrepreneurship education and a small scale business woman in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State. In carrying out the study a sample size of 200 questionnaires were used but only 132questionnaires were used retrieved and stratified, random sampling technique was used. Research questions were developed and two hypothesis were formulated and tested but based on the results, alternate hypothesis were accepted. It is advised that this work is limited to only Emohua local Government Area and so may not be advisable to draw a general conclusion for Nigeria. This study is significant in so many ways that will help protect entrepreneurs in Nigeria and small business holder women in Emohua Local Government Area. It will also, further broaden their knowledge and understanding on entrepreneurship education and small business holder growth.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- Background of the study
In developing countries such as Nigeria the economic landscape is changing, with a move from foreign direct investment to self-employment and entrepreneurship. This is noted in the increase in the number of individuals considering self-employment as a career option due to the high rate of unemployment in those Economies. According to the European Commission Report (2012), despite the lack of evidence on the effects of entrepreneurship education, the key role of entrepreneurship education must not be disregarded. In addition to equipping young people with the skills needed for the 21st century, entrepreneurship education is a means to increase social inclusion; it can increase the number of entrepreneurs – social and commercial, and it can be a gateway for a greater integration of the framework for key competences for lifelong learning. Blenker, Dreisler & Kjeldsen (2008) argue that in the closing decades of the 20th century, entrepreneurship gained increased recognition among economists as a significant driver of improvements in societal welfare. Across the globe, governments have acknowledged the importance of their roles in motivating individuals, businesses and related stakeholders to perceive and develop new opportunities that can promote positive change and create economic growth in their societies. This entrepreneurial spirit is now seen as the main source of innovations in nearly all industries, leading to the birth of new enterprises and the growth and renewal of established organizations. Simon et al. (2012) says that given entrepreneurship’s potential to support economic growth; it is the policy goal of many governments to develop a culture of entrepreneurial thinking. This can be done in a number of ways: by integrating entrepreneurship into education systems, legislating to encourage risk taking, and national campaigns The importance of entrepreneurship education and training was stressed in a 2009 report by the Global Education Initiative (GEI) of the World Economic Forum (WEF): which noted that while education is one of the most important foundations for economic development, entrepreneurship is a major driver of innovation and economic growth. Entrepreneurship education plays an essential role in shaping attitudes, skills and culture from the primary level up. We believe entrepreneurial skills, attitudes and behaviors can be learned, and that exposure to entrepreneurship education throughout an individual’s lifelong learning path, starting from youth and continuing through adulthood into higher education as well as reaching out to those economically or socially excluded is imperative. The key to the success of establishing a culture of entrepreneurship in Nigeria is education and training, which depends on all the stakeholders, including state, educators, and learners themselves. Apart from the educational impact and influence, the school can be regarded as the place where the most (holistic) profound impact can be brought about in the development of the youth. The small and medium enterprise (SME) sector plays a pivotal role in creating innovation, wealth, employment and economic growth in industrialized and developing countries (Robson and Bennett, 2000). For example, in the UK, SMEs account for 99.8 per cent of enterprises and 52.4 per cent of employment (Small Business Service, 2008). The encouragement of entrepreneurial behavior is therefore critical for the economy (Gray, 2006) especially given its contribution to economic prosperity within knowledge-based economies (Hannon, 2005). Harrison and Leitch (2010) have noted that researchers, governments, and policy makers are recognizing the significant role that the education sector in particular must play in economic development. The need for more entrepreneurship in particular has been noted as important.
- STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Ministry of Economic planning report on SMEs (RoK, 2007) show that three out of five SMEs fail within their first three years of operation in Nigeria. Bawuah, Buame & Hinson, (2006) in spite of the critical importance of entrepreneurs in the economic development of a country, less developed nations especially Sub-Sahara African (SSA) countries have not fully developed strategies to take advantage of this resource. Numerous factors contribute to sector and individual enterprise inefficiency, including low capital outlays, the use of labour intensive technology, low level of skills and organization, limited access to organized markets and formal credit, unregulated and competitive markets, and limited access to services. In Nigeria, the small business sector has both the potential and the historic task of bringing millions of people from the survivalist level including the informal economy to the mainstream economy. Béchard & Grégoire (2005), while there is extensive literature on entrepreneurship education and training, evidence demonstrating the influence of training on entrepreneurial activity is still lacking. Greater understanding is needed about how programs and learning strategies help develop skills that lead to the formation of new ventures (Garavan & O‟Cinneide, 1994). At the most basic level, low levels of education and training underpin several of these factors and a large percentage of African entrepreneurs have never undergone any formal business or entrepreneurial skills training, which limits their ability to plan, spend, save, and invest to support commercial success. The result is high relative levels of indebtedness, an inability to grow both service offerings and jobs, lack of adequate reinvestment, and unrealized earnings and profit, O’Neil & Mahadea, (2005).Practicing entrepreneurs expect entrepreneurial education to assist them in solving the unique problems in their businesses. For the aspiration to become a reality, effective support structures are required to harness local initiatives and nurture new enterprises that are capable of creating sustainable employment and business models. There is need to address the failures and non performance in SME, Stacked up against such a choice are many examples of business failures in the community, negative attitudes towards business, and misconceptions about what makes a business succeed, the common view is that all you need to succeed is ‘capital. While studies have shown mixed relationship between entrepreneurship training and entrepreneurial development, they have not highlighted the role of entrepreneurship training and education on the growth of enterprises. On this background the researcher wants to investigate entrepreneurship education and the growth of small holders business.