Entrepreneurship Development as a Catalyst for Employment Generation in Edo State, Nigeria

This work looked at entrepreneurship development as a catalyst for employment generation in Edo State, a study of some selected local government areas. The study employed a survey research design. The population of the study comprises of 500 participants who have benefited from entrepreneurship development programmes in Edo State. A sample size of 150 respondents randomly chosen from four selected local government areas was used for the study. A well- structured questionnaire was the instrument used to gather data for the study. The questionnaire consists of 10 items structured in a 4-point Likert scale format. The data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software, tables, simple percentages, mean, and standard deviation. The hypotheses were tested using the Chi-square statistical test. The result of the study revealed that entrepreneurship development programmes have a significant impact on employment generation in Edo State, and that the challenge faced in financial accessibility has a significant impact on the sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises in Edo State. Thus, the study recommended that the government should establish accessible funding programmes and grants to support SMEs and enhance their sustainability because entrepreneurship is the vehicle for national and economic development.