Muraina, L.O

Abstract

This study stems from the issue of unemployment in Nigeria which, at the time of this study, was reported to be 14.2% by the National Bureau of Statistics. Unemployment has been associated with the increasing crime rate, poverty, and underdevelopment. However, studies have reported that to address Nigeria’s current unemployment, entrepreneurship promotion is fundamental as it would unleash the potential of the youth which by extension, would contribute to the nation’s development. Hence, this study examined if undergraduates have intentions to become entrepreneurs in the future with the structural support currently available in the country. The study, which had a descriptive and exploratory orientation, adopted a mixed method approach and the study population consisted of 2 public and private universities each located in three states in South-West, Nigeria. These institutions and the sample population were determined through a multistage sampling technique. A total of 414 questionnaires were administered and 33 structured interviews were conducted. Data processing and data analysis were done through SPSS Version 20 from which tables depicting measures of central tendency and variation, spearman correlation co-efficient, and multiple regression analysis were tested. The interviews were transcribed and their content was analysed. The results depicted that there is a wide gap in the support provided by the country’s structure to aid entrepreneurial intentions as several structural issues (loan unavailability, political climate, recessionary economy etc.) were seen as challenges by the undergraduates. However, they identified the large population and climatic conditions as favourable for entrepreneurial ventures. The study recommends that bureaucratic restrictions and laws in business creation should be reduced while funds and materials should be provided to entrepreneurs. In addition, reducing the interest, exchange, and inflation rates and addressing the issues of the recessionary economy are identified as important for entrepreneurship promotion.

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Intention, Entrepreneurship, Structural Support, Unemployment