Influence of Entrepreneurship Skills and Incentives on Promoting Local Economic Growth among Students in Colleges of Education in North Central, Nigeria

Abstract

This study assesses the influence of entrepreneurship skills and incentives on local economic growth among students in Colleges of Education in North Central region of Nigeria. The study evaluates the effect of entrepreneurship skills possessed by students in Colleges of Education on local economic growth and also examine the role of incentives provided to students in promoting local economic growth in North Central Nigeria. Data were obtained from 378 students randomly selected from seven Colleges of Education across the region, using a validated questionnaire. Descriptive and logistic regression was adopted to analyze the data with STATA software at a 0.05 significance level. Findings revealed that students equipped with entrepreneurship skills were significantly more likely to contribute to local economic growth through business creation, innovation, and job generation. Incentives such as training, mentorship, and limited financial support also had a significant positive impact on students' entrepreneurial intentions. Also lack of startup capital, inadequate mentorship and insufficient incentives are the major barriers that hinder the translation of entrepreneurship skills to ventures by students across Colleges of education in the region. The study concludes that practical entrepreneurship education, supported by adequate incentives, is key to grassroots economic development, and recommends among other that State Governments and stakeholders in the North Central region, in collaboration with Colleges of Education, should develop a Student Venture Fund that provides small, accessible seed grants and connects student entrepreneurs with verified mentors from the local business community.