Thesis Abstract

Abstract
Entrepreneurship among graduates in Nigeria has gained significant attention due to its potential to drive economic growth and reduce unemployment rates. This study aimed to explore the determinants of entrepreneurship among graduates in Nigeria. A mixed-methods approach was employed, including surveys and interviews with graduates who have ventured into entrepreneurship. The findings revealed a combination of individual, educational, and environmental factors that influence graduates' decisions to become entrepreneurs. At the individual level, factors such as prior entrepreneurial experience, risk-taking propensity, and passion for business were found to be key determinants of entrepreneurship among graduates. Educational factors such as the quality of entrepreneurship education and exposure to entrepreneurial role models also played a significant role in shaping graduates' entrepreneurial intentions. Furthermore, environmental factors such as access to finance, government policies, and market opportunities were identified as crucial external determinants impacting graduates' entrepreneurial pursuits. The study found that graduates who had prior exposure to entrepreneurship during their education were more likely to consider entrepreneurship as a viable career option. Additionally, graduates who perceived a supportive entrepreneurial ecosystem, including access to funding and mentorship, were more inclined to start their own businesses. However, challenges such as limited access to finance, bureaucratic hurdles in business registration, and a lack of market opportunities were significant barriers to entrepreneurship among graduates in Nigeria. The results highlight the importance of a holistic approach to promoting entrepreneurship among graduates in Nigeria. Policymakers should focus on improving the quality of entrepreneurship education, providing easier access to funding, and creating a conducive regulatory environment to foster a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem. Moreover, efforts to promote entrepreneurship should address not only individual capabilities but also the broader environmental factors that influence graduates' entrepreneurial decisions. Overall, this study contributes to the existing literature on entrepreneurship by shedding light on the multifaceted determinants of entrepreneurship among graduates in Nigeria. By understanding these determinants, policymakers, educators, and other stakeholders can develop targeted interventions to support and encourage more graduates to pursue entrepreneurial ventures, ultimately contributing to economic development and job creation in the country.

Thesis Overview

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

In recent years, entrepreneurship education has been developing steadily but unevenly in most countries. In the United State for example, which has been a trailblazer and leader in the field, the last decade has been described as an important era, with a significant increase in student interest (Fiet 2001a) the figure tend to support this statement.

In 1971, only 16 colleges and universities in U.S. offered entrepreneurship education program, while today, there are more than 800.

Entrepreneurship is an under search topic in the social sciences and especially in economics. It was not always so, Schumpeter discusses the role of the entrepreneurship in the process of economic development at length. He imagine the entrepreneur as a creative driven individual who find new combination of factors of production” to discover and develop a new product, to apply strategy for a new market or design a new technology.

The United States have a comparatively long tradition of fostering entrepreneurs at universities and business schools. While the first entrepreneurship courses were taught at Harvard Business School as early as the 1930s, this field has seen increasing attention since the 1970s. By 1990, 400 universities in America were already estimates exceed 700 (Vesper and Macmillan 1988: Hills and Morris 1988, Fiet 2001) progress in this field has thus been extremely impressive.

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Throughout the world, student in entrepreneurship as a career choice is growing Brenneret 1991, Hart et Harrison, 1992, while interest in traditional professional employment in big business is gradually declining (Kovereld 1996), the orientation and behaviours of student and young graduates are influenced by a number of personal and environmental factors.

Under uncertainly, out came may be characterized by an expected value which summarizes the potential out comes of the probability of their occurring. Business profits are typically an uncertain function of the work effort extended by the entrepreneur, with an expected profit level for each effort level surrounded by a variance of profit outcomes due to the impact of unexpected changed in consumer preferences competition price and product offerings, macro-economic variables and so on.

This profit variance introduces the role that additional remuneration for that effort profit variance is considered by potential entrepreneurs who asses stability (certainty of ensuring a pay check every month avoiding rise, maintaining current life style) before making a decision to set up a new venture (Amit, et al 1996) given the myriad of factors that surrounds the decision making frame of a young Nigeria graduate who intends to put a career in entrepreneur, it is imperative that answers be found to the following questions. What are the attitudes influences, their intention toward becoming entrepreneurs? What are the subjective norms underlying their intention of becoming entrepreneur? What control beliefs influence their intentions.