CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and has the potential to be one of the prime drivers of development on the continent. Nevertheless, the country’s development is constrained by the weak environment for broad-based economic growth. Achieving sustainable long-term change requires a significant strengthening of policy formulation and implementation processes. At its core, this involves the supply of, and demand for, improvements in the business environment. Social media entrepreneurship is a new phenomenon that has changed how the business environment operates. Businesses are able to gain access to resources and online exposure that were otherwise not available to them. It has also helped businesses to increase their worthiness, cultivate strategic partnerships and increase their contact with customers and suppliers. It has become important for business owners and marketers to register their presence on the social media which also work as a communication and marketing tool which significantly grow their businesses. The entrepreneurs on social media have the ability of sharing their business ideas and encounters. This assists in creativity, open communication and sharing of knowledge among users. Facebook, Skype and discussion forums are examples of social media tools where large numbers of entrepreneurs participate (Tapscott and Williams, 2008). The sky is the limit with social media. Owing to of the flexibility of social networking tools, businesses can realize different benefits. These according to Simon (2012) are greater access to different audiences, increased patronage, improved customer service, improved products and services, job creation and adoption of favorable pricing practices. The 21st century has seen a shift in the way businesses operates. Smith and Taylor (2004) reveal that companies are presently experiencing several new unanticipated events and the development of the Internet as a communication channel is almost certainly one of the most influential factors