Business Mentoring and Entrepreneurship Development in Selected States of Nigeria

Abstract

There exist a hiatus between teaching and practice of Entrepreneurship Development in Nigeria .This exacerbates unemployment, affects the nation’s gross domestic product as a well as economic growth and development. As a result this paper examined business mentoring as a panacea for entrepreneurship development in Nigeria. The study was limited to six states selected from six geo-political zones of the country. Guided by Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT ) as well as Behavioral-Elastic Model, the research sought to ascertain if there was a positive relationship between effective learning and entrepreneurship development.  In pursuance of the objective of the study, the cross-sectional survey research design was adopted. A sample of 131 individuals selected from the various states was used for the study. One research question and one hypothesis were formulated to guide the study.  A structured questionnaire was designed to elicit data from the respondents.  Personal interviews were also conducted with some selected members of the sample.  A pilot study was conducted using a test-retest method to establish the reliability of the research instrument.  The validity of the research instrument was also tested.  Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used for testing the hypothesis and t-test was used for testing the level of significance of correlation coefficient at 5% error and 3 degrees of freedom. Among others, the findings of the research reveal that there is a positive relationship between effective learning and entrepreneurship development in Nigeria; and that one can acquire entrepreneurial skills through mentoring. It is recommended that National University Commission should as a matter of urgency introduce business mentoring in University Curriculum and should be backed by relevant policy; and there is a need for additional research into the long-term impact of mentoring relations vis- a- vis cost benefit analysis of the programme.

Key Words: Business Mentoring, Learning, Entrepreneurship development , Panacea , Correlation.