Antecedents of entrepreneurial activity and poverty: Mediating effect of entrepreneurial activity

Poverty rates in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have risen, with 47% of the region’s population living in poverty. In Nigeria, approximately 87 million are classified as extremely poor. Existing research on the relationship between entrepreneurship and poverty in this region is fragmented and inconsistent. Traditional economic measures of poverty have proven inadequate, prompting the need for a multidimensional approach. The paper examined the mediating effect of entrepreneurial activity on the relationship between the precursors of entrepreneurship and poverty. The study used a survey method and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the data, which confirmed all hypotheses, revealing significant direct relationships except for uncertainty avoidance. The findings suggest that access to finance, entrepreneurial potential, individualism, and masculinity’s impact on poverty are mediated by entrepreneurial activity. The paper advocates for an increase in formal and informal funding and suggests that government programs should emphasize skill development over business programs. This study enriches the existing literature by detailing the mediating effect of entrepreneurial activity on poverty drivers.