Influence of Entrepreneurship Education on Improvement of Rural Household Incomes among Art &Craft Cooperatives in Rwanda: Case Study of Cooperative Des Tailleurs Au Rwanda (COTAR)

Abstract

 This study is to examine the influence of entrepreneurship education on improvement of rural household incomes among art and craft cooperatives in Rwanda. . The impact of this kind of education is vital in the transformation of rural areas in Africa. Poverty in relation to lack of finances is identified as a global issue which is situated in rural areas. Thus the rural areas need the attention of the governments, private sector, international development partners so that the increase of income and transformation takes place among the people living in the rural areas.  The objectives of this study were to: examine the influence of entrepreneurship education on the improvement of rural household incomes among art &craft cooperative in Rwanda using Cooperative des tailleurs au Rwanda (COTAR) as a case study. Entrepreneurship education has a desirable controlling influence over increment of incomes of the rural individual, family, community and society leading to development and reduced poverty.  This study adopted a descriptive survey design that combines both quantitative and qualitative research designs, techniques and measure. The study targets the beneficiaries of Cooperative des tailleurs au Rwanda (COTAR) who have gotten a chance to access quality entrepreneurship education and in their community, the population consists of adults, the youth who are beneficiaries of the cooperative .A sample of 100 respondents was selected from the cooperative through purposive sampling and random sampling. The study used semi – structured questionnaire and interview tools in data collection. The data collected from the questionnaires and interviews was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS); questions in the research instruments were coded, variables defined. Descriptive statistics including frequency distribution tables & percentages and coefficient correlation were used in the data analysis. the findings indicated that entrepreneurship education was very significant in influencing household income with an R squared value of 79.5%.the study recommended that more training and capacity development programs should be organized for the members of cooperative, members should be exposed to technological advancement and awareness so that they are able to get new business ideas and lastly business incubation and research centers should be set up to enable the members to participate in showcasing the new ideas.