Promoting entrepreneurship for poverty reduction and sustainable development in Nigeria

Abstract

Economic development can be realized with the elimination of mass poverty and unemployment. The objective of this study is to evaluate entrepreneurship for poverty reduction and sustainable development in Nigeria. This study uses representative sample survey of private enterprises in North-Central Nigeria to investigate the opportunities, constraints and overall impact of entrepreneurship on poverty reduction and sustainable development. SMEs in hair dressing and beauty salon, foods, bottle water, farm fresh products, wholesale and retail trade were investigated. The survey also exposes the factors responsible for failures in policies and programs intended to benefit the poor and generally reduce poverty. This research finds that small scale entrepreneurs in Nigeria face many constraints and it underscored the need for fiscal priority to be placed on skills acquisition, rural development, agriculture, animal husbandry, community participation, forestry, community health, irrigation, rural education, infrastructure, land development and small scale business empowerment in rural areas. Nigerian graduates deserve employability, career development training and skills acquisition. Nigeria needs to take advantage of her primary product endowment to manufacture, invent and invest heavily in infrastructure and industrial development. We conclude that Nigeria has a large economy and it is wealth-endowed for entrepreneurship.