CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0    BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Entrepreneurship has never been more important than it is today in this time of financial crisis.  At the same time, society faces massive global challenges that extend well beyond the economy.  Innovation and entreneurship provide a way forward for solving the global challenges of the 21stcentury, building sustainable development, creating jobs, generating renewed economic growth and advancing human welfare.  When we speak about entrepreneurship, we are defining it in the broadcast terms and in all forms – entrepreneurial people in large companies, in the public sector, in academia and, of course, those who launch and grow new companies.  Now more than ever, we need innovation, new solutions, creative approaches and new ways of operating. We are in uncharted territory and need people in all sectors and at all ages who can “think out of the box” to identify and pursue opportunities in new and paradigm changing ways.

Entrepreneurship can be a societal change agent, a great enabler in all sectors.  Not everyone needs to become an entrepreneur to benefit from entrepreneurship but all members of society need to be more entrepreneurial.  The public sector, private sector, academia and non-profit sectors all have roles to play in facilitating the development of effective ecosystems that encourage and support the creation of innovative new ventures.  We need to create the types of environments that are conducive to encouraging entrepreneurial ways of thinking and behaving.

Much has been written about the impact of entrepreneurship on economic growth.  If we are to attain the Millennium Development Goals of reducing poverty, we must develop human capital in all countries and societies, in remote regions as well as major cities, and world.  While the contexts around the world vary dramatically, entrepreneurship, in its various forms, can equip people to proactively pursue those opportunities available to them based on their local environments and cultures.  We have seen a number of “waves” in entrepreneurship education, starting a century ago, developing in phases and now expanding exponentially.  By making entrepreneurship education available to young people and adults alike, we are preparing the next wave of entrepreneurs to enable them to lead and shape our institutions, businesses and local communities and create an enabling environment for sustainable employment.

Entrepreneurship is a sure way to bringing fulfillment to the aspiration of an individual, and a major weapon to curbing unemployment, poverty and underdevelopment problems in any country.  Consequently, its importance to the economic wellbeing of an individual and family cannot be over-emphasized. Entrepreneurship is first and foremost a mindset of human beings, focused towards the generation or profitable ideas.  Entrepreneurs are visionary, goal-driven, innovative individuals or teams that are oriented to developing a new business and making it a profitable one (Hisrich and Lagan-fox, 2005).  Nigerian economy is an emerging one that is characterized by a large influx of entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises.  The emergence of this category of people makes it somewhat important and necessary for researchers to understand and mange them effectively.

Entrepreneurs play an important role in any given economy and are the prime movers of economic development.  Entrepreneur is derived from the French verb “entrependre” which means to undertake, to attempt, to try in hand, to contract for, or to adventure (Girad, 1962).  Entrepreneurship is the process of wealth creation and individuals referred to as entrepreneurs create this wealth by being innovative.  The traditional perspective described entrepreneurship in purely economic terms.  For example, Cantillon (1755), describes the entrepreneur as any individual who is self-employed, thereby actively taking the risk of economic uncertainty.  The entrepreneur in the context of this paper is the originator or creator of a profit seeking organ of the society or economic organization established for the purpose of providing goods and services for the consumption of the society, in which such organizations located.  The entrepreneur is often referred to as the agent of economic, technological and social systems (Ogundele and Olayemi, 2004).