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Development of entrepreneurial potential among undergraduates of a private

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DOI: 10.1080/20421338.2014.976972

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African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 2014
Vol. 6, No. 6, X–XX, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20421338.2014.976972
© 2014 African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development

Development of entrepreneurial potential among undergraduates of a private university in

Nigeria
Akeem Ayofe Akinwale

Department of IRPM, Faculty of Business Administration, University of Lagos, Akoka, Nigeria

Email: akinwale.akeem@yahoo.com

Based on the theory of planned behaviour, the present article examines the development of entrepreneurial potential
among the undergraduates of a private university in north-central Nigeria. A total of 250 randomly selected
undergraduates from various departments participated in a survey at the university. The findings revealed that
the overwhelming proportions of the respondents expressed their talents with an interest in entrepreneurship.
Self-employment in the informal economy was the next plan of more than half of the respondents. Several factors such
as ethnicity, level of education, self-expression, and interest in entrepreneurship influenced the expression of talents and
desire for entrepreneurship. It is concluded that investment in higher education with interest in entrepreneurship will
enhance the development of entrepreneurial potential among graduates in Nigeria. This suggests the need for relevant
strategies including self-help, innovative behavior, and government-university-industry interaction for the development
of entrepreneurship in Nigeria.

Keywords: Capitalism. competence, higher education, entrepreneurship, development, Nigeria

Introduction development in developing countries (Wilson 2010). For

The concept of entrepreneurships has been subjected to
extensive research and it remains a current area of interest.
Entrepreneurship can be described as the process of
establishing and managing an enterprise. It is generally an
act of recognising opportunities, mobilising resources to
take advantage of the recognised opportunities, ensuring the
provision of goods or services and obtaining profit for the
risk involved in production (Akinwale 2009). The popularity
of entrepreneurship has been reinforced by the astronom-
ical increase in the rate of unemployment in Nigeria, where
about 60% of the youth is unemployed (Babalola 2007,
Makinwa-Adebusoye 2014, Salimi and Kleczek 2014).
The high rate of youth unemployment in Nigeria is partly
due to a lack of relevant marketable skills among the Nigerian
graduates. In addressing the challenge of youth unemploy-
ment, the Nigerian government has integrated entrepre-
neurship into the curricula of higher educational institutions
in Nigeria, like situations in many countries where youth
entrepreneurship has attracted attention (Beckman 2005,
Rasdan, Eriyatno, Affandi, and Machfud 2014).
The Nigerian government promoted entrepreneurial
education through the intervention of the National
Universities Commission (NUC), which makes entrepre-
neurship education mandatory for all undergraduates of
the Nigerian universities. The mandate by the NUC is
based on a general belief in Nigeria that entrepreneur-
ship development will contribute towards a gradual
reduction in the rate of unemployment, at least through
jobs creation, wealth accumulation, and reinvestment.
Entrepreneurs in the private sector have demonstrated
this through their contributions to socio-economic
instance, in his analysis of 12,000 firms in 27 developing
countries, Islam (2014) showed that economic growth
negatively associated with crime and the relationship was
stronger for small and medium firms than large firms.
The above description justifies the present article
with three research questions: What are the founda-
tions of entrepreneurial potential among undergraduates
in Nigeria? How does a Nigerian university promote
or hinder the development of interest in entrepreneur-
ship among its undergraduates? Moreover, who should
be responsible for the development of entrepreneurial
potential among undergraduates in Nigeria? These
questions are necessary to provide an opportunity for
feedback on collective investment in entrepreneurial
education in Nigeria. The questions have been examined
through a survey of undergraduates in a private univer-
sity in Nigeria. The choice of the university is based on
its novelty and record of comprehensive programmes
on entrepreneurship training across all disciplines in
the university. The university’s policy on entrepreneur-
ship education aligns with Beckman’s (2005) note that a
university-wide entrepreneurial programme can become
the driving force of entrepreneurship. It is therefore
essential to examine the nuances of the development of
entrepreneurial potential in Nigeria.
Review of the literature on entrepreneurship
As shown in the study by Bhaduri and Worch (2008),
the literature on entrepreneurship predominantly focused
on factors such as new firm formation and self-employ-
ment decision to measure entrepreneurship. However,

African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development is co-published by Taylor & Francis and NISC (Pty) Ltd
2 Akinwale — African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development 2014, Vol. 6 No. 6, pp. X–X
in developing countries and emerging economies
such as India, where the unemployment level is high
and long-term employment opportunities are limited,
self-employment decisions are rather linked with the
need to survive than with any positive attitude toward
risk bearing or uncertainty. In their study of small-scale
pharmaceutical enterprises in India, Bhaduri and Worch
(2008) presented econometric evidence of the impact of
past experience on various dimensions of entrepreneur-
ship, such as discovery of new opportunities, responsive-
ness to uncertainty, and coordination of a firm. It is noted
that the way entrepreneurs perceive and make sense of
entrepreneurial options would be guided by their past
experiences based on cognitive learning. This process is
what Bhaduri and Worch (2008) called an entrepreneur-
ship frame.
Consistent with the above, Werner et al. (2014)
reported that employees who perceived their wages as
unfair and, simultaneously prefer different work hours
would have the strongest entrepreneurial intentions.
Based on his analysis of 4 858 small and medium-scale
enterprises (SMEs) in the United Kingdom, Lee (2014)
noted that high-growth firms perceived problems in six
areas: recruitment, skills shortages, obtaining finance,
cash flow, management skills and finding suitable
premises, while the potential high-growth firms perceived
problems in four areas: economy, finance, cash flow and
management skills.
By observation, entrepreneurship starts at the
individual level and it is a key source of economic growth
(Dew and Sarasvathy 2007, Harkema and Schout 2008,
Herson 2012). For Feldman (2014), entrepreneurs are the
agents of change that can transform local communities;
they are the agents who recognise opportunity, mobilise
resources, and create value; they are key to the creation of
institutions and the building of capacity that will sustain
regional economic development. Entrepreneurs play a key
role in local, regional and national economic development
(Karlsson and Warda 2014). This confirms the descrip-
tion of entrepreneurship as a dynamic process of creating
incremental wealth through capitalism, innovation,
risk-taking propensity, resilience, competitive aggressive-
ness, and managerial ability (Kuratko and Hodgetts 1995,
Okafor 2005).
For Banfe (1991, 2), entrepreneurship involves
‘rethinking conventional paradigms, and discarding
traditional ways of doing things’, while Morris et al.
(1994) argued that entrepreneurship encompasses the
process of risk-taking and co-ordination of other factors
of production such as land, labour and capital. Several
scholars have subscribed to Schumpeter’s (1934) descrip-
tion of entrepreneurship with emphasis on innovation
(Smilor and Sexton 1996, Tropman and Morningstar
1989, Van-Aardt et al. 2000). It is noted that entrepre-
neurship requires a complete understanding of innovative
behaviour in all forms, as only businesses with innovation
are entrepreneurial (Druker 1985, Kuratko and Hodgetts
1995). Unfortunately, in spite of the growing interest in
entrepreneurship, levels of innovation remain inadequate
in developing countries (Palmer 2009).
Palmer’s (2009) recognition of a shortage of innova-
tion in developing countries reflects the Nigerian experi-
ence of retrogression since her attainment of political
independence in 1960 – although entrepreneurial efforts
have been on board in Nigeria since the pre-colonial era,
given the history of trading networks and risk-taking
initiatives among different groups such as the Yoruba,
the Igbo and the Hausa. The creative efforts of Nigerians
have, however, nosedived as a result of the establishment
of schools and the imposition of wage labour during the
colonial era. This situation led to abandonment of indige-
nous crafts and high rates of unemployment.
The Nigerian educational system was modified to
promote entrepreneurship development through the
introduction of theoretical knowledge and vocational
training programmes in schools. Also, the structure for
the development of entrepreneurship has been renewed
and upgraded with the integration of entrepreneurship
education into the curricula of universities in Nigeria.
However, the outcomes of the collective investment
in entrepreneurship education are devoid of adequate
investigation. Thus, this article fills the gap with a view to
improving the modalities for the development of entrepre-
neurship in Nigeria.
Empirical review of the literature on the development
of entrepreneurial potential
Generally, in an empirical analysis of 9 549 nascent
entrepreneurs selected from 30 countries, Koelinger
(2008, 22) observed that high educational attainment,
unemployment, and a high degree of self-confidence
influenced entrepreneurial potential. Similarly, a study
of 496 entrepreneurs in Ghana showed that the extent of
entrepreneurial behaviour was based on the educational
level of the entrepreneurs (Robson et al. 2009).
The Portuguese University of Minho designed the
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Integrated Project
(IEIP) to enhance capacity for entrepreneurship develop-
ment (Soares et al. 2013). The competition amongst the
Portuguese students resulted in enlargement of students’
technical skills and acquisition of multidisciplinary
knowledge, especially soft skills like project manage-
ment, teamwork, communication ability and personal
development. These skills could enhance students’
capacity for entrepreneurship development in Portugal.
In a study of entrepreneurial education among
students in American universities, Beckman (2005)
showed that 92% of the students who participated in
entrepreneurial courses were satisfied with their entrepre-
neurial career; also in another study, almost half of the
students who participated in entrepreneurial courses
either started their own business after graduation or chose
 Development of entrepreneurial potential among undergraduates of a private university in Nigeria
a short term position in preparation for an entrepreneurial
career. Additional instances of university entrepreneurial
programmes are summarised as follows:
The University of Colorado at Boulder and the Univer-
sity of Arizona offer internships, experimental opportuni-
ties, classes in musical entrepreneurship and professional
development workshops. The University of Iowa and the
University of North Texas have created undergraduate
degrees and graduate certificates in musical entrepreneur-
ship based on partnerships with their respective business
schools … The University of Texas at Austin, Western
Carolina University, and the University of Massachusetts
Lowell have elective classes on the topic. However, there
is no consensus on how to approach entrepreneurship
curricula (Beckman 2005, 13).
The Kauffman Panel on Entrepreneurship in Higher
Education (2008) canvassed support for teaching of
entrepreneurship (Khanna 2014). A survey of 3 700
undergraduates in five American universities concluded
that taking an entrepreneurial course significantly
correlated with entrepreneurial intentions (Mayhew et
al. 2012). In partnership with high-tech industries, the
US Department of State has established Common Core
Standards, including entrepreneurship training in public
schools beginning from the 2013/2014 academic session
(Herson 2012). In his observation of universities’ tenden-
cies to meet students’ needs in modern society, Herson
(2012) gave a 20-year projection of early signals and
anticipated future developments that will affect entrepre-
neurship, showing that universities will have a big role
to play in promoting entrepreneurship. Herson (2012,
166) noted specifically that: ‘By 2030, universities will be
ranked by number of successful entrepreneurs trained and
number of jobs that result, rather than by size of library
and endowments’.
In their study of the most important factors in
fostering growth in Appalachian and other geographical
regions with historically low growth rates in the United
States, Stephens et al. (2013) considered various factors
such as self-employment, human capital, creativity,
university spillovers and high-technology clusters. Their
results show that entrepreneurial potential are important
for increasing growth in low growth regions. Geldhof et
al. (2014) examined the joint role of personal attributes,
contextual attributes, and characteristics of person-
context relationships in predicting entrepreneurial intent
in a survey of 3 461 students enrolled in colleges and
universities in the United States. Their findings showed
that self-regulation, innovation orientation, and posses-
sion of entrepreneurial role models could predict students’
intentions to pursue an entrepreneurial career.
Like the situation in the USA, the political climate in
France also encourages students’ interest in the develop-
ment of entrepreneurship, with remarkable private sector-
government-university partnerships creating more than 70
innovation clusters. Any French citizen who takes the risk
of becoming an entrepreneur is considered a hero, regard-
3
less of the outcome (Herson 2012). In another study,
Rooij (2014, 266) noted that ‘universities are increasingly
seen as motors of innovation that not only need to provide
trained manpower and publications to society, but also
new products, new processes and new services that create
firms, jobs, and economic growth’. This is in accordance
with Brownson’s (2014) prediction that participants in
entrepreneurship programmes may become entrepreneurs.
In contrast to the cases of the development of
entrepreneurial potential in several countries, Chinese
students exhibited inadequate interest in entrepreneur-
ship despite their excellent performances in reading,
mathematics and sciences, as shown in the results
of the Programme for International Students Assess-
ment (PISA), ranking China first among the 65 nations
that participated in the study (Zhao 2012). The PISA
scores are often perceived as the measure of a nation’s
education quality and its students’ academic abilities.
Available records showed that Chinese students’ PISA
scores in reading, mathematics, and sciences negatively
correlated with entrepreneurship indicators (Zhao 2012).
This situation suggests the need for a restructuring of the
Chinese educational system to promote students’ interest
in entrepreneurship. Like the Chinese experience, there
is recognition of innovation and entrepreneurship as
two critical ingredients in the continuous economic
growth of Singapore (Ng 2012). Further review of the
literature showed the description of Singapore as ‘an
education giant that has trouble producing the creative
and entrepreneurial talents it needs’. (Zhao 2012, 58)
This implies that acquisition of higher education does
not automatically enhance entrepreneurship develop-
ment in some countries, including China and Singapore,
considering the fact that:
Countries with higher PISA scores have lower entrepre-
neurship activities. Specifically, countries with better
performance on PISA tend to have fewer people who
plan to start businesses and fewer people who have
started businesses … This means that the commonly
used measures of educational quality have negative or no
relationships with entrepreneurship (Zhao 2012, 58).
Given the contradiction exemplified by China, Japan,
Korea, and Singapore, the educational practices and
societal factors that help students achieve academically
may hinder the development of entrepreneurship. Thus,
with the triple helix, i.e. university-industry-government
interaction, the Japanese national innovation system
promotes entrepreneurship education. Ritsumeikan
University has been active in supporting and producing
new business start-ups, while Kyoto has many univer-
sities, colleges and technical schools with which new
entrepreneurs can forge ties (Ibata-Arens 2008, Shi and
Yonezawa 2002). Also, Almeida’s (2008) analysis of
entrepreneurial activities in Brazilian universities showed
the importance of the triple helix. Almeida (2008) noted
4 Akinwale — African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development 2014, Vol. 6 No. 6, pp. X–X
a lack of study on entrepreneurial activities in higher
educational institutions in Brazil, however.
The empirical analysis of the development of
entrepreneurial potential among undergraduates of many
universities in different parts of the world has thrown up
the importance of the triple helix for the development
of youth entrepreneurship. The Nigerian example of
the triple helix can be observed in the existing interac-
tion between the NUC’s mandate on entrepreneurial
education and the integration of entrepreneurship into
the curricula of Nigerian universities, on one hand, and
a new collaboration between government institutions
and corporate organisations on the funding of small
and medium-scale enterprises, on the other hand. The
new collaboration for the development of entrepreneur-
ship in Nigeria includes partnership between govern-
ment agencies and private sector organisations as
demonstrated in a recent (September 2014) launching
of a five billion naira (N5 000 000 000.00) fund to
empower small and medium-scale enterprises at 9%
interest rate. The Nigerian government has mandated
the Bank of Industry (BoI) to disburse and manage the
fund accordingly.
Besides, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has
established a N200 billion fund for the development of
micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in Nigeria
at 5% interest rate. The CBN released its framework for
the implementation of the fund in April 2014, including
75% of the fund set aside to provide financial services
for women with proven interest in the development
of entrepreneurship. If well-implemented, the above-
mentioned initiatives may enhance the development of
entrepreneurship in small-scale enterprises in Nigeria.
Existing studies on the importance of entrepreneurship in
small-scale enterprises shows that small firms with less
than 20 employees have the largest shares of job creation,
and highest sales growth (Ayyagari et al. 2014).
Theoretical framework for development of
entrepreneurial potential
The central issues addressed in the present article are
based on Ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behaviour
(TPB), dealing with intentions for an understanding of
behaviour. Ajzen (1991) considered culture and social
conditions as key determinants of human behaviour.
Volkema and Bergmann (1995, 6) noted that ‘intentions
alone are sufficient to predict actions when an individual
has control over behavioural performance’. The TPB
provides a model that guides human action and predicts
the occurrence of a specific intentional behaviour.
The model comprises three variables such as attitudes,
subjective norms and perceived behavioural control.
These variables produce the modalities for a change in
behaviour. The scope of a particular behaviour includes
target, action, context and time (TACT). Francis et al.
(2004: 7) summarised the TPB thus:
To predict whether a person intends to do something,
we need to know … Whether the person is in favour
of doing it (‘attitude’) … How much the person feels
social pressure to do it (‘subjective norm’) … Whether
the person feels in control of the action in question
(‘perceived behavioural control’). By changing these
three ‘predictors’, we can increase the chance that the
person will intend to do a desired action and thus increase
the chance of the person actually doing it.
Although the relationship between behavioural
intention and actual behaviour may not be perfect,
intention can be used as a proximal measure of
behaviour. An attitude toward behaviour is a person’s
overall evaluation of the behaviour. The attitude has
two components: beliefs about consequences of the
behaviour and the corresponding judgement about the
consequences of the behaviour. Subjective norms are a
person’s own estimate of the social pressure to perform
or not perform the target behaviour. Subjective norms
have two components: beliefs about how other people
would like them to behave. The perceived behavioural
control of the behaviour is the degree of a person’s ability
to enact the behaviour. It has two aspects: how much a
person has control over the behaviour and how confident
a person feels about ability to perform the behaviour. It
is determined by control beliefs about the power of both
situational and internal factors to inhibit or facilitate the
performing of the behaviour (Francis et al. 2004).
The concept of intentions, subjective norms, and
perception of behavioural control lends credence to the
suitability of the TPB for an analysis the development
of entrepreneurial potential among undergraduates of
a private university in Nigeria. Based on its compliance
with the Nigerian government policy on entrepreneurship
education, the university provides an enabling environ-
ment to stimulate the interest of its undergraduates in the
development of their entrepreneurial potential. Unlike the
situation in most universities in Nigeria, all students of
Landmark University are mandated to enroll for entrepre-
neurial courses popularly called Entrepreneurial Develop-
ment Studies (EDS) from their first year to final year,
irrespective of the courses for which they were admitted
into the university. With the university-wide and compre-
hensive entrepreneurial education, no student is left in
doubt of the importance of the need to develop an interest
in entrepreneurship.
This process shows clearly how the university
promotes the development of an interest in entrepreneur-
ship among its undergraduates. However, the role of the
university in the development of interest in entrepre-
neurship will be incomplete without an understanding
of the attitude of the undergraduates and the subjective
norms towards youth entrepreneurship in Nigeria. It is
important to check the undergraduates’ ability to control
their interest in entrepreneurship and whether the interest
will result in intentions to pursue entrepreneurial career.
Moreover, how the undergraduates will derive benefits
 Development of entrepreneurial potential among undergraduates of a private university in Nigeria
from the relevance of the triple helix deserves attention.
Essentially, the development of entrepreneurial potential
among undergraduates may require different strategies.
Methods of data collection and analysis
Primary and secondary data were used for the present
article. With the structured questionnaire, the primary
data was collected in April 2012 and the process of its
analysis lasted for four months (May to August 2012).
Similarly, Datta (2011) analysed entrepreneurship from
the initiation of a new idea to its scaling stage, using
semi-structured interviews with various actors such as
entrepreneurs, employees, partners and beneficiaries. He
supplemented the interview data with secondary sources
and observations. The next paragraphs show further
details of the methods adopted during the collection of the
primary data for the present article.
All the students of Landmark University are encour-
aged to devote attention to entrepreneurship development.
Each student undergoes entrepreneurship education for at
least eight semesters. From the university’s record of 1 711
students including 953 pioneer students and 758 students
who matriculated in the 2011/2012 academic session, a
total of 250 students were systematically selected for the
study. The sampling frame comprised all the 631 students
who were admitted without any offer of scholarship in the
2011/2012 academic session. This category of students
constitutes a group with proven interest in the university.
Thus, the eligible students were found in two out of the
three colleges in the University. The College of Business
and Social Sciences was selected randomly and 250 students
were systematically selected from a list of students in the
college to yield the sample size for the study.
A sample size of 250 is adequate for representation
of the entire student population of Landmark Univer-
sity because Krejcie and Morgan (1970) observed that a
sample size of 380 is adequate for a population of 35 000
to 40 000. Some scholars also maintain that a sample size
that is not less than 10% of the study population is a good
representative of the study population (Owojori 2002,
Peretomode 1992).
Two hundred and fifty copies of a structured
questionnaire were directly distributed to the same
number of respondents. However 200 copies of the
questionnaire were filled and returned but some of the
returned questionnaires were incompletely answered,
and only 148 copies of the questionnaire were usable
yielding a response rate of 59.2%. The exclusion of the
incompletely answered questionnaire from the analysis is
appropriate, considering scholarly advice that question-
naires which are less than 25% completed should be
eliminated from further data processing (Sekaran 2003).
The response rate recorded during the collection of the
primary data used for the present article is acceptable
within the ambit of Sekaran’s (2005) rule of thumb,
5
which indicates that a sample size from 30 to 500 is
appropriate for most research.
Results and discussion
This section shows the results and discussion concerning
the development of entrepreneurial potential among
undergraduates of a private university in Nigeria. The
results and discussion reflect the research questions,
including an exploration of the foundations of entrepre-
neurial potential among the undergraduates, analysis of
how the university promotes or hinders the development
of interest in entrepreneurship among its undergradu-
ates, and identification of who should be responsible for
the development of entrepreneurial potential among the
undergraduates.
Socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents
Table 1 shows the respondents’ socio-demographic
characteristics such as gender, age, income (pocket
money) and course of study. The female respondents
outnumbered their male counterparts (61.5% versus
38.5%). This finding could be attributed to the gender
ratio in the Nigerian private universities where there is
a record of higher frequency of admissions for female
students compared to their male counterparts. The
majority of the respondents (92.6%) were aged 16–20
years. This finding gives an impression that many of the
respondents are teenagers, while few are adults in their
youthful age. The finding on age reflects the admission
policy that prohibits any student below the age of 16
years from being registered as students.
Regarding the estimates of their income (pocket
money) per month, the female respondents differed
significantly from their male counterparts with an
indication of relatively higher rate of cash flow
among few of the male students. The respondents
with monthly income of N0–N19 999 constitute 52%
including 60.4% for female respondents and 38.6% for
the male respondents. This was followed by N20 000–
N39 999 recorded among 39.9% of the respondents
including 34.1% for female respondents and 49.1% for
male respondents.
Almost equal proportion of the respondents identi-
fied with various disciplines in the areas of business and
social sciences, respectively. A total of 56.1% of the respon-
dents identified with business-oriented disciplines such as
Accounting, Banking and Finance, and Marketing, while
43.9% selected social science disciplines such as Economics,
International Relations, Political Science, and Sociology.
Foundations of entrepreneurial potential among the
respondents
Table 2 shows the foundations of entrepreneurial
potential among the respondents. The key foundations
presented in the table include identification of talents
through self-expression, specification of the type of
6 Akinwale — African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development 2014, Vol. 6 No. 6, pp. X–X

Table 1: Socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents

Gender of the respondents Total

Socio-demographic characteristics Male Female
Frequency %
Frequency % Frequency %
Gender
Male 57 100 0 0 57 38.5
Female 0 0 91 100 91 61.5
Total 57 100 91 100 148 100
Age group (years)
16–20 51 89.5 10.5 86 94.5 137 92.6
21–25 6 100 5 5.5 11 7.4
Total 57 91 100 148 100
Monthly income (pocket money)
N0– N19 999 22 38.6 55 60.4 77 52
N20000– N39 999 28 49.1 31 34.1 59 39.9
N40 000 and above 7 12.3 5 5.5 12 8.1
Total 57 100 91 100 148 100
Course of study
ACC/BFN/MKT 30 52.6 53 58.2 83 56.1
ECO/IRL/POL/SOC 27 47.4 38 41.8 65 43.9
Total 57 100 91 100 148 100

talents and recognition of the ultimate goal in life. Over
87% of the respondents expressed their talents in different
activities including singing, music, drama, writing,
dancing, and art. The areas of their talents were classified
into three main categories such as mental, manual, and
mixed depending on the level of involvement of critical
thinking and practical demonstration in each talent.
The classification produced various types of talents
such as mental talent, which was recorded for 41.9% of the
respondents, manual talent, which was prominent among
46.5% of the respondents and mixed talent identified with
some respondents (11.5 %). This finding suggests that
many respondents had developed an interest in activities
that are distinct from their course of study in the university.
This situation could promote or hinder the development of
entrepreneurship, depending on their final intentions.
The respondents also indicated their ultimate goal
in life. The highest percentage (43.3%) expressed their
ultimate desire to be successful, while 18.4% indicated
their ultimate interest in professionalism. Some of them
(14.9%) also noted that they wanted to be great in life and
the remaining few expressed interest in either becoming
leaders or making heaven (12.1% versus 11.3%). It is
clear that none of the respondents wanted to be a failure
but it is not clear if they have been well equipped to
follow the career trajectories that would enable them
realise their ultimate goals in life.
The finding on foundations of entrepreneurial
potential is consistent with Rooij’s (2014) conclusion
that knowledge production in the university is relevant,
justified and important. Similarly, Khanna (2014) noted
that the potential for entrepreneurship could start from
the small players and new entrants to the market. Thus,
there is no doubt that some of the undergraduates with
expressions of talents would become entrepreneurs. It is
also noteworthy that there is a market value for some of
the talents identified among the respondents. An observa-
tion of the activities in the Nollywood industry in Nigeria
shows the economic importance of good music, drama,
and dancing skills. A similar observation was made in
Beckman’s (2005) study of entrepreneurial education
among students in American universities, where 92% of
the students who participated in entrepreneurial courses
were satisfied with their entrepreneurial career.
Development of entrepreneurial potential among the
respondents
As shown in Table 3, the respondents expressed their
opinions on a number of issues associated with develop-
ment of entrepreneurial potential, including the desired
highest level of education, next decision after the desired
highest level of education, and willingness to participate in
entrepreneurship development. These issues are compat-
ible with the theory of planned behaviour. Surprisingly,
most of the respondents (75%) expressed their desire for
doctoral degrees, while some of the respondents (20.3%)
disclosed their intention to pursue a master’s degree. This
finding suggests that putting a final stop on one’s level
of educational qualification at first degree is no longer
fashionable for some graduates in Nigeria.
Self-employment received utmost (56.1%) attention
in the respondents’ expression of the next plan after
their desired highest educational qualifications, although
some of them (33.8%) noted that they would opt for jobs
in order to become employees in the private or public
sector. Virtually all the respondents with expressions of
interest in self-employment noted their preference for
enterprises in the informal economy, where registra-
tion and other regulations do not apply. Only very few
(10.1%) indicated interest in getting married immedi-
 Development of entrepreneurial potential among undergraduates of a private university in Nigeria 7

Table 2: Foundations of entrepreneurial potential among the respondents

Gender of the respondents Total

Foundation of entrepreneurial potential Male Female
Frequency %
Frequency % Frequency %
Possession of talent
Yes 47 82.5 82 90.1 129 87.2
No 10 17.5 9 9.9 19 12.8
Total 57 100 91 100 148 100
Type of talent
Mental 16 34 38 46.3 54 41.9
Manual 28 59.6 32 39 60 46.5
Mixed 3 6.4 12 14.6 15 11.6
Total 47 100 82 100 129 100
Ultimate goal in life
To be great 8 14.5 13 15.1 21 14.9
To be a professional 8 14.5 18 20.9 26 18.4
To be a leader 12 21.8 5 5.8 17 12.1
To be successful 21 38.2 40 46.5 61 43.3
To make heaven/ up to God 6 10.9 10 11.6 16 11.3
Total 55 100 86 100 141 100

ately after the accomplishment of their desired highest
educational qualifications. This indicates the respon-
dents’ interests in higher education and self-employment
in the informal economy, thereby debunking the notion
that self-employment is meant for dropouts. Moreover,
96.6% of the respondents reported their desire to become
entrepreneurs. This finding is similar to a survey of 3 700
undergraduates in five American universities, showing
that taking an entrepreneurial course significantly
correlated with potential for entrepreneurship develop-
ment (Mayhew et al. 2012).
The respondents’ desire for higher education and
interest in entrepreneurial careers are understandable.
In an empirical analysis of 9,549 nascent entrepreneurs
in 30 countries, Koelinger (2008, 22) observed that:
‘High educational attainment, unemployment, and a high
degree of self-confidence are significantly associated
with entrepreneurial potential at the individual level’.
Also, Heunks’ (1998) survey of 200 managers of small
firms in six European countries showed that risk taking,
education, and self-confidence significantly correlated
with entrepreneurial potential, which tends to depend on
some factors such as, level of education, self-confidence,
future orientation, and desire for leadership. And, Herson
(2012) noted that some forms of higher education will be
an important career facilitator for people with entrepre-
neurial skills. Moreover, Audretsch (2014) noted that
universities are important sources of knowledge and
ideas for economically successful enterprises.
Confirmation of hypotheses
Two hypotheses were tested and partly supported. The alterna-
tive versions of the hypotheses are presented as follows:
1. Expression of talents has a significant association with
personal characteristics such as gender, age, course of
study and income (pocket money)
2. Interest in entrepreneurship has a significant associa-
tion with personal characteristics such as gender, age,
course of study and income (pocket money).
The results of the hypotheses are shown in Tables
4 and 5. As shown in Table 4, expression of talents
significantly associated with level of income (F = 2.14,
P = 0.04). Surprisingly, there was no significant associa-
tion between expression of talents and other personal
characteristics such as gender, age and course of study
(P > 0.05). Regarding the second hypothesis, which
focuses on association between an interest in entrepre-
neurship and personal characteristics, there was no signif-
icant association between an interest in entrepreneurship
and personal characteristics such as gender, age, income
(pocket money) and course of study (P > 0.05).
The results of ANOVA also indicate that the respon-
dents’ expressions of talents and interest in entrepre-
neurship had a significant variation with self-expression
of talents (SS = 1.180, MS = 0.008, F = 599.76,
P = 0.01) and a desire for entrepreneurship (SS = 4.045,
MS = 0.028, F = 71.55, P = 0.01). The role of talents
is significant since expression of talents was highest
(97.7%) among the respondents (129) who expressed
their talents and desire for entrepreneurship. However, all
the respondents (19) with record of no talents expressed
no desire for entrepreneurship.
The expression of talents and interest in entrepre-
neurship influenced the development of entrepreneurial
potential. All the respondents with apathy toward
entrepreneurship failed to express their talents, whereas
those who expressed their talents mostly indicated an
interest in entrepreneurship. This finding shows the
influence of talents and interest in the development of
entrepreneurial potential. In recognition of the need to
develop entrepreneurial potential among undergraduates,
Atsenuwa (2014) demonstrated that universities must
8 Akinwale — African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development 2014, Vol. 6 No. 6, pp. X–X

Table 3: Development of entrepreneurial potential among the respondents

Gender of the respondents Total

Development of entrepreneurial potential Male Female
Frequency %
Frequency % Frequency %
Desired level of education
Bachelor’s degree. 3 5.3 4 4.4 7 4.7
Master’s degree 12 12.1 18 19.8 30 20.3
Doctorate 42 73.7 69 75.8 111 75
Total 57 100 91 100 148 100
Next plan after desired education
Look for job 15 26.3 35 38.5 50 33.8
Get married 3 5.3 12 13.2 15 10.1
Self-employment 39 68.4 44 48.4 83 56.1
Total 57 100 91 100 148 100
Intention to be an entrepreneur
Yes 54 94.7 89 97.8 143 96.6
No 3 5.3 2 2.2 5 3.4
Total 57 100 91 100 148 100

Table 4: The analysis of variance of the respondents’ expressions of talents, interest in entrepreneurship and next plan with personal
characteristics

Talents Entrepreneurship Next plan

Personal characteristics
F Sig. F Sig. F Sig.
Sex 1.01 0.32 1.83 0.18 4.35 0.04*
Age 0.75 0.63 0.86 0.54 0.78 0.63
Course of study 0.32 0.86 0.03 0.87 0.65 0.42
Income (pocket money) 2.34 0.04* 0.88 0.5 1.62 0.16
* Significant at P < 0.05

Table 5: The analysis of variance of the respondents’ possession of talent and desire for entrepreneurship with a diversity of factors

Development of entrepreneurial potential

Diverse factors
SS MS F Sig.
Expression of talents 1.180 0.008 599.76 0.001
Interest in entrepreneurship 4.045 0.028 71.55 0.001
Desired highest level of education 5.802 0.04 2.82 0.63

equip their graduates with effective intellectual capacity
to generate ideas. This is in consonance with Henrekson’s
(2014) discovery that creative entrepreneurship is a key to
economic growth and life satisfaction.
Responsibilities for the development of entrepreneurial
potential
Studies have shown who should be responsible for
the development of entrepreneurial potential among
undergraduates. With the analysis of several cases of the
triple helix and tripartite interactions for the develop-
ment of youth entrepreneurship, researchers have
considered the importance of collaboration between
universities, industries, and government agencies (Herson
2012, Mingji and Ping 2014, Mok 2012, Zelgalvis and
Joppe 2014). From the 2013/2014 academic session,
entrepreneurship training has been developed in public
schools in the United States through a partnership
between high-tech industries and the US Department of
State (Herson 2012). Also, more than 70 entrepreneurial
clusters have been developed in France as a result of
remarkable private sector-government-university partner-
ships to encourage students’ interest in the development
of entrepreneurship.
A study in China noted the relevance of the establish-
ment of university–industry collaboration for the develop-
ment of entrepreneurship (Mingji and Ping 2014).
Similarly, in a description of the national innova-
tion systems of Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and
South Korea, Mok (2012) placed emphasis on the role
of university-industry collaboration in the development
of entrepreneurship. For Zelgalvis and Joppe (2014),
government institutions and local authorities could play
an important role in promoting development of entrepre-
neurial potential.
An observation of the entrepreneurial potential among
the undergraduates of a private university under investi-
gation in Nigeria shows that entrepreneurial students
who are ready to take risk for an investment in a small-
scale enterprise as an avenue for job creation and career
 Development of entrepreneurial potential among undergraduates of a private university in Nigeria
development deserve some support from the university,
members of society, government officials and captains
of industry. This observation is in accordance with some
researchers’ prediction that government support for
entrepreneurship programmes will enhance the develop-
ment of entrepreneurial attributes and motivation towards
an interest in entrepreneurship (Brownson 2014, Moses,
Olokundun, and Akinbode 2014).
Conclusion
The present article dwells on the development of
entrepreneurial potential among undergraduates of a
private university in Nigeria. The university is known
for its comprehensive curricula on entrepreneurship.
The issues addressed in the article include analysis
of the foundations of entrepreneurial potential among
undergraduates in a private university, the university’s
strategies for promoting or hindering the development
of interest in entrepreneurship, and identification of who
should be responsible for the development of entrepre-
neurial potential among undergraduates in Nigeria.
The findings presented in the article generally show
various entrepreneurial potential among the undergradu-
ates of a private university in Nigeria. The undergraduates
largely expressed their talents and interest in entrepre-
neurship with enthusiasm and a desire to pursue their
academic programmes in the university to the highest
levels. Some undergraduates expressed their musical
and artistic talents, while some were conscious of their
linguistic and writing prowess. Many of the undergradu-
ates expressed their consciousness about the importance
of entrepreneurship with a desire for self-employment
in the informal economy. Given the postulations in
the theory of planned behaviour, there is no doubt that
investment in higher education with interest in entrepre-
neurship will enhance capacity building for the develop-
ment of entrepreneurship among graduates in Nigeria.
Also, different categories of persons and institutions are
expected to discharge their responsibilities to ensure
the development of entrepreneurial potential among the
undergraduates of Nigerian universities. Individuals and
institutions need to stimulate interest in the develop-
ment of entrepreneurship in small-scale enterprises as
an important step toward the overall development of
entrepreneurship in Nigeria.
In conclusion, some of the undergraduates of the
private university in Nigeria will not only be counted
among the future entrepreneurs in Nigeria but are also
likely become highly educated and successful. From this
conclusion, it can be predicted that continued pursuit of
university education to higher levels with expressions of
talents along different occupational lines would enhance
development of entrepreneurial potential among Nigerian
graduates, and this will also create ample opportunities
for gainful employment and wealth creation, especially
in the informal economy. It is therefore recommended
9
that Nigerian undergraduates should not only express
their talents with an interest in entrepreneurship but
also continue to pursue their entrepreneurial talents
for immediate and future progress. Besides, Nigerian
government officials should support a more produc-
tive interaction and collaboration between industries
and universities with a focus on capacity building for
entrepreneurship development. Universities should
organise entrepreneurial career development programmes
for undergraduates to express their talents openly in an
atmosphere of competition. Universities and industries
should jointly allow undergraduates to undergo intern-
ship. Government should provide scholarships for
undergraduates with proven entrepreneurial talents.
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