Determinants of Participation in Entrepreneurial Activities in Arsi Zone, Oromiya, Ethiopia

The main objective of this paper is to assess determinants of participation in entrepreneurial activities in an urban setting with a case study from Arsi administrative Zone central part of Ethiopia. Primary data were collected from 184 households (84% male and 16% female), selected randomly from four towns. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, tests of hypothesis and binary logistic regression model. Results reveal that 28%, 26%, 18%, 13%, 13% and 2% households were engaged in running shops, boutique, wood works, metal works, café and restaurant and others works, respectively. It was also found that participation in entrepreneurial activities is positively influenced by sex of household head, square age of households, educational level and household size but, negatively affected by age of household heads and economic status of parents. The economic status of parents influence household heads directly or indirectly with respect to generating their own income.