THE IMPACT AND ROLE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP ON THE ECONOMIC GROWTH OF NIGERIA
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Â Â Â Â Â Background to the Study
The role of entrepreneurship in the growth and development of our dear nation cannot be overlooked and as a result of the consistent rise in the level of unemployment and the upward increase in the level of poverty in Nigeria, it has become crucial for Nigerians to quit searching for white collar jobs that are not available and start creating employment for themselves. The forces of entrepreneur are strong in Nigeria because most people see entrepreneurial activities as what is primarily based on essential due to the poor economic situation. We do not seem to realise the fact that entrepreneurship development is the base of all economic evolution of any nation. The current Nigerian economy is largely dominated by the oil industry. The labour force is radically growing, as is the unemployment rate currently at 20%, with millions of workers underemployed. Nigeria is endowed with the largest domestic market in Africa a wide range of natural resources coupled with a diversely skilled labour pool. Given these economic realities, the country must constantly create new jobs, and diversify the industrial and commercial sector to take advantage of human and natural resources.
The activities of entrepreneurs have been found to be capable of making impact on the economy of a nation and quality of life of the people through economic growth; employment generation and empowerment of the disadvantaged segment of the population, which include women and the poor. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is perceived as a pride of basically every country or state. Because of SMEs’ significant roles in the development and growth of various economies, they have appropriately been termed as the engine of growth and catalysts for socio-economic transformation of any country. SMEs are perceived as a real instrument for the achievement of national economic objectives of employment generation and poverty reduction at low investment cost. Other central benefits of vibrant SMEs are the  access to the infrastructural facilities the stimulation of economic activities such as providers of various items and distributive trades for items produced and needed by the SMEs, stemming from rural urban migration, enhancement of standard of living of the employees of the SMEs and their dependents as well as those who are directly or indirectly associated with them.
Various government of the nation have begun to find solutions on how to involve the private sector in the developmental process of their country’s economy which is one of the responses to the challenges of development of entrepreneurial in developing countries. Nigeria had even taken a bold step by including entrepreneurial studies in the academic curriculum of her education system and with the introduction of National Directorate of Employment (NDE) scheme. The belief of such policy makers is that such decision will inculcate entrepreneurial spirit in the mind of people so as to prepare them for wealth creation through entrepreneurship (Fasua, 2006). Entrepreneurship is very crucial to the development of a country’s economy, especially countries like Nigeria. Entrepreneurship is sine qua non to national development poverty eradication and employment generation it is the bed rock of any nation’s industrialization.
