The Influence of the Igba-Boi Apprenticeship System on SME Development and Employment Generation in South-East, Nigeria

Operators of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South-East Nigeria have been experiencing setbacks in raising adequate start-up capital, alongside a lack of the requisite managerial skills to ensure the growth and survival of their enterprises. One prominent and sustained source of venture capital, particularly in South-East Nigeria, is the Igbo apprenticeship system, traditionally known as Igba-Boi. The current study assessed the influence of the Igba-Boi apprenticeship system on SME development and employment generation in South-East Nigeria. A survey research design was adopted, and two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. Using the Taro Yamane formula, a sample of 394 respondents was drawn from a population of 25,671 masters, settled apprentices and currently serving apprentices from the five South-Eastern states using a cluster random sampling technique. A structured questionnaire titled Influence of Igba-Boi Apprenticeship System on SME Development and Employment Generation Scale (IIASSDEGS) was used for data collection and had a Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient of 0.88. The research questions of the study were answered using the mean and standard deviation, while the hypotheses were tested using t-tests at the 0.05 significance level. The findings showed that Igba-Boi apprenticeship system positively influenced SME start-ups. There was a statistically significant relationship between the Igba-Boi system and venture capital, primarily through the settlement mechanism, transfer of tacit skills and integration into supplier networks. The study also revealed that the Igba-Boi system replicates itself and generates employment through the incubation process, whereby new masters take on new cohorts of apprentices. The study recommends the formal integration of the settlement, mentorship and networking mechanisms of the Igba-Boi model in the South-East to support entrepreneurial development in the region.