Nurturing the Contemporary Entrepreneur: A Tactical Solution to the Outrageous Unemployment and Poverty Rate in Nigeria

Abstract

Despite the Nigerian government's supports for entrepreneurial development through initiatives with significant capacity for growth as witnessed over the years from the activities of establishments like National Directorate of Employment (NDE) and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN). The existing level of poverty and unemployment is disheartening though many attributed it to unbalanced increase in population growth. The study reviewed literatures on building entrepreneurial mind-set, entrepreneur culture and competent skill development in relation to entrepreneurial development. The study is based on qualitative research method and in the process large amount of data was generated with results descriptively drawn from the data obtained. The aftermaths of literature review indicate the absence of entrepreneur mentorship and counselling in Nigeria. Similarly, the absence of entrepreneurial mind-set and clarity of entrepreneur culture is another factor. For that reason, there is need to develop a framework to help nurture our ideal contemporary entrepreneur which entails setting up an adequate entrepreneurial mentorship and counselling programmes to help inculcate the act of building an entrepreneur mind-set as well as entrepreneur culture in all aspects be it a new entrepreneur start-up or an existing venture with the hope of a wide geographical spread in both rural and urban areas. Adequate geographical coverage and equal opportunity for both genders will significantly help in curbing poverty in Nigeria. Integrating these practices with adequate government policy can contribute to entrepreneur growth as a job creation strategy to reduce government burden of employment generation as well as improve the living standard of Nigerians.