This study investigated the effect of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on the market internationalisation readiness of 25 selected export manufacturing SMEs located in Lagos, Kano and Abuja in Nigeria, operationalised through export readiness. Positioned in the Resource-Based View (RBV), Dynamic Capabilities Theory (DCT), and the Uppsala Internationalisation Model, the study adopted a quantitative cross-sectional survey research design. A structured self-administered questionnaire was used to a proportionately stratified sample of 319 respondents drawn from 25 export manufacturing SMEs across Lagos, Kano, and Abuja, with 293 usable responses analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression via SPSS Version 27. All four null hypotheses were rejected at the 0.05 significance level. Innovativeness (β = .321, p = .000) emerged as the strongest predictor of export readiness, followed by proactiveness (β = .252, p = .000), competitive aggressiveness (β = .213, p = .000), and risk taking (β = .189, p = .001). The four EO dimensions collectively explained 55.0% of the variance in export readiness (R² = .550, F = 89.741, p = .000). The study concludes that entrepreneurial orientation is a robust, multidimensional determinant of export readiness among Nigerian manufacturing SMEs. Policy and managerial implications for the AfCFTA context are discussed.
Keywords: AfCFTA, Entrepreneurial Orientation, Innovativeness, Nigeria, SMEs, competitive aggressiveness, export readiness, internationalisation readiness, proactiveness, risk-taking
