Entrepreneurship Development and Youth Employment in Nigeria: Perspectives on Selected Entrepreneurship Schemes (Published)
The study examined the relationship between entrepreneurship development and youth employment in Nigeria. It focused on two empowerment schemes: Youth Entrepreneurship Development Programme (YEDP) and Youth Initiative for Sustainable Agriculture in Nigeria (YISA). The nation’s unemployment record, especially among youth, is alarming. A National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report in 2018 shows that, out of the 85million labour force in Nigeria, 34million are unemployed and underemployed youths, with 25million largely uneducated. The YEDP and YISA schemes were designed to train and make youths entrepreneurs that would be self-employed and also employ others. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to show that in spite of the conscious and frantic efforts by government and non-governmental organizations through the framework of YEDP and YISA to address the unemployment challenge in the country not so much has been achieved. The study revealed that the programmes have created a number of entrepreneurs and employment for young people across the country. Nonetheless, these efforts have not significantly yielded the desired outcomes of massive job creation for the youths and ensuring national food security. To achieve desired results, using the agricultural value chain, there is need to adopt scientific knowledge based agricultural production. Hence the paper concluded that for Nigeria to address the twin challenges of massive unemployment and national food insecurity agricultural activities should be scientific and greatly modernized. The study recommended, among other things, that integrated farming approach, involving large variety of activities per hectare should be adopted and there should be substantial investment in R&D to generate new ideas and high yielding seeds for the new entrepreneur-farmers.
Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Food Security, Uneducated., Unemployment, Value Chain, Youths
ANALYSIS OF PRODUCTIVITY, PROFITABILITY, INCOMES AND RETURN ON INVESTMENTS IN YOUTH SMES IN NIGER DELTA, NIGERIA (Published)
The objective of this study was to identify profitable and viable SMEs which could form a basis for an economic empowerment programme for the restive unemployed youths in the Niger Delta Region. The focus of the study is on SMEs which are registered with the co-ordinating agency of government and are therefore considered bankable by financial institutions. A survey of SMEs was conducted in four major urban centres of Aba in Abia State, Uyo in Akwa Ibom State, Benin in Edo State and Port Harcourt in Rivers State and their environs. The cities were purposively selected because they are known centres of economic activities around which industrial establishments and SMEs cluster in the region. The SMEs were registered by government agencies, under eleven categories, with unequal number of enterprises. One hundred enterprises were purposively selected in each of the four centres, for a total of four hundred, ensuring that all enterprise types, in each category, were represented. Applying the simple analytical tools of total factor productivity, net income (NI) and rate of return on total investment (RRTI), the ten most viable SMEs were identified for the states as follows: Abia; metal fabrication, garments, interlocking tiles, concrete electric poles, printing works, saw mills, metal construction, paints, air conditioner and refrigerator repairs and restaurant; Akwa Ibom, paints, oil palm processing, garment/fashion, furniture works, leather bags, bakery and confectionery, metal construction, electronic repairs, brick making and wood arts. Edo, Auto electric, air conditioner and refrigeration, fish production, candle production, oil palm processing, auto mechanics, wood arts, metal works, poultry production and garment/fashion. Rivers: Hair dressing, fish production, metal works, oil palm processing, foot wears, aluminum and glass fabrication, cassava processing, air conditioner and refrigeration, block moulding, restaurant.
Keywords: Niger-Delta, Productivity, Profitability, Rate of Return, SMEs, Youths