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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 11, No. 4
Publication Date: April 25, 2024
DOI:10.14738/assrj.114.16846.
Bamgboye, P. O. (2024). Entrepreneurship For Sustainable Development in Nigeria. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal,
11(4). 250-256.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
Entrepreneurship For Sustainable Development in Nigeria
Patrick Oluseun Bamgboye
School of Arts and Sciences, Atlanta Metropolitan State College
Georgia, United States
ABSTRACT
The study observes that entrepreneurship in Nigeria is constrained by the
challenges inherent in the business environment, thereby impacting negatively on
the sustainable development of the country. These challenges range from limited
access to capital or credit and inadequate or epileptic power (electricity) supply
among others to adequately run businesses. Entrepreneurship as it were is the
greatest potential to contribute significantly to the sustainable development of any
nation, and most especially Nigeria. It is the contention of this study on the one hand
that entrepreneurs themselves should operate within the legitimate business
environment that is guided by rules and regulations, while the government on the
other hand, should provide a conducive business environment through appropriate
policies and regulations for businesses to thrive. By this, we believe
entrepreneurship will be a catalyst for the sustainable development of the country.
Keyword: Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Development, Sustainable Development.
INTRODUCTION
Entrepreneurship is the corner stone of any economy, nay Nigeria. according to the National
Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data, micro, small and medium scale Enterprises (MSMEs) account
for 49.8% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as well as constitute a significant
proportion of the number of businesses in Nigeria in recent decades (Olufemi, 2023).
Entrepreneurship account for 8.5% of total job creation. Entrepreneurship, no doubt makes
significant contributions to the nation’s economy in terms of creative solution, innovations and
values addition in virtually every facet of the economy (Adenike et al., 2021)
Furthermore, entrepreneurship also plays a significant role in the development and provision
of infrastructures, including sectors that have been challenging to the government. In the last
four decades, a lot of entrepreneurs have been able to bridge the deficit in critical sectors such
as the financial, healthcare, Information and Communication Technology, education, media,
transportation, energy, aviation and the oil and gas sectors. Still along this line of thought,
Mohammed argued that sustainable development is critical for the long-term development of
any county, while noting that entrepreneurship has the potential to play a vital role in attaining
sustainable development goals (Mohammed. 2023).
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
It should however be noted that the country’s vast population and enormous natural resources
make room for entrepreneurship to thrive an impact the economy. However, the volatile nature
of the economy, political instability and security challenges in recent times, make it difficult for
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Bamgboye, P. O. (2024). Entrepreneurship For Sustainable Development in Nigeria. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 11(4). 250-256.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.114.16846
entrepreneurship to thrive and contribute meaningfully to sustainable development. In spite of
this shortcomings, entrepreneurship remains a vital aspect of the Nigeria’s economy and the
potential to drive and sustain economic growth and development (Olufemi, 2023).
The lack of infrastructure, energy crisis, fluctuating foreign exchange rate, spiraling inflation,
high interest rate, lack of appropriate incentives, poor access to startup capital, have all
increased the cost of doing business in Nigeria. Most significantly, they have constrained
entrepreneurship development in Nigeria. these teething economic challenges have not only
constrained entrepreneurial activities, but discourage emerging entrepreneurs in no small
measure. All these do not augur well for entrepreneurship development. The nation, Nigeria is
in dire need of sustainable development, the present economic doldrums are clear indications
that all the developmental strides made since independence have not been sustained, as such,
further developmental policies must take into cognizance, entrepreneurship development
(Mohammad, 2023).
CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATIONS
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is a person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in
the hope of profit. An entrepreneur, in other words, is said to be a person who undertake or
initiate a business, bearing the risks, with the hope of getting rewards for the undertaking.
Entrepreneurship
Anub (2023) posits that entrepreneurship is the act of starting a new business, or being
innovative in business and taking on financial risks with the motive of making profit. In other
words, it is said to be the process of discovering new ways of combining resources or better
ways of doing business. It is when an entrepreneur combines resources in a new way that
creates more value or better value, more than the resources could have created individually, or
in other words, combinations that makes business more profitable.
In the same vein, Madu (2020) sees entrepreneurship as the act of creating more utility or
improving on the way a business is conducted or being innovative in business. Ibeenwo (2018),
still on this trajectory, states that entrepreneurship is concerned with change because it is a
catalyst for the creation of opportunities and threats in the business environment. The obvious
consequences of change may present viable business opportunities or render current products
or services obsolete, which entrepreneurs take advantage of. Wikipedia (2024) sees an
entrepreneur as a person who creates and/or invests in one or more businesses, bearing
substantial part of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards.
Development
The concept of development is nebulous, but in this context, development is improvement in
infrastructural, economic, socio-political conditions and general wellbeing of the people.
Development can also be viewed as improving the standard of living, economic emancipation,
poverty eradication, as well as the reduction of unemployment and inequality (Iyigun, 2015).
Sustainable Development
Sustainable development has to do with sustainability. Sustainability has to do with how a
system sustains itself continuously. Sustainable development is internally driven, internally
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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 11, Issue 4, April-2024
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
developed and internally sustainable, devoid of any form of dependency. Sustainable
development could be seen as “the development that meets the needs of the present generation
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (UN
Brundtland Report, 1987). The Brundtland report shed light on the issue of social justice and
human development within the context of social equity as well as the equitable distribution and
utilization of resources (Iyigun, 2015). Suffice it to say that despite the important contributions
of entrepreneurs to the potential growth of any economy, the business environment in Nigeria
has not been fully supportive of their potentials. Small business owners continue to grapple
with numerous challenges which limit their productivity, expansion potential and employment
capacity. Traditionally, limited access to capital, high interest rate, infrastructure deficit,
inadequate power supply, policy and regulatory inconsistency top the list of challenges facing
small businesses in Nigeria. more recently, insecurity has become a major barrier to the growth
of small businesses in the country. In addition, these businesses operate in a high volatile,
uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment characterized by unpredictable policy
changes.
THE NEXUS BETWEEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The nexus or link between entrepreneurship and sustainable development in Nigeria stem
from the fact that entrepreneurs must overcome business challenges (threats and
opportunities) for their businesses to be sustainable. It is only when their businesses are
sustainable that they can contribute meaningfully to the sustainable development of the
country.
Entrepreneurs and their enterprises in every developing economy are one of the drivers of
economic development both at the rural and urban areas of the country. Accordingly, Ilegbinosa
and Jumbo (2015) posited that the creation, growth, advancement as well as the development
of entrepreneurship have provided essential evidence to the growth and development of many
countries; particularly the developing nations like Nigeria. Entrepreneurs have been identified
to be pivotal for sustainable growth and development of developing countries (Ariyo, 2015).
He further argues that entrepreneurship create jobs from their innovative businesses,
enhances the production of goods and services, reduces the level of inequality, as well as bolster
the growth of human capital for sustainable development.
Consequently, it is obvious that entrepreneurship have been mainly recognized as the bedrock
of the economy as they play crucial role towards providing employment opportunities,
improving the value of human resources, developing a philosophy of entrepreneurship, as well
as incubate the possibilities of large-scale industries, that serve as catalyst for the
industrialization of the country. All these make entrepreneurship a significant determinant of
sustainable development in Nigeria. To sum it up, Tolu (2020) posits that, it has become
imperative for the government to come up with policies that will promote and propagate
entrepreneurship as a panacea to achieving self-reliant and sustainable economic growth and
development in Nigeria.
PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN NIGERIA
Inadequate Funding
It is a known fact globally that entrepreneurships are funded by the entrepreneurs’ personal or
family savings. Nonetheless, the high level of poverty and the resultant low level of income and