Entrepreneurial Mindset among Nigerian University Students: A Study of Ebonyi State University's Entrepreneurship Centre, Abakaliki

Abstract

The popularity that entrepreneurship gained in the world today is largely due to the positive effects it has on many countries as a catalyst that creates wealth and generates other opportunities. This no doubt has resulted in the calls by the stakeholders in the education sector to instill an entrepreneurial mindset in Nigerian University Students. However, researchers have a divergent opinion regarding the factors responsible for creating an entrepreneurial mindset among Nigerian Students. While some believed that self-development help in creating an entrepreneurial mindset in students, others argued in favour of perception. This study, therefore, set to fill this gap by examining the factors responsible for creating an entrepreneurial mindset in Nigerian University Students. The population was the 720 registered students of Ebonyi State University's Entrepreneurship Centre, Abakaliki. Yamane’s formula (1967) was used to determine a sample size of 257. A questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents. T-test was the statistical tool used to analyze the collected data. It was discovered that entrepreneurial perception is more significant in creating an entrepreneurial mindset in Nigerian students than self-development. The study concludes that perception is essential for building an entrepreneurial mindset among Nigerian University Students and recommended among others that more entrepreneurship education curriculum should be developed and taught in Nigerian Universities as an accurate understanding of and good perception about entrepreneurial skills is a key success factor.