Open and Distance Learning for Sustainable Development

New venture creation and development have been recognised in the literature as critical elements
in the social and economic development of a nation (e.g. Schumpeter, 1934, 1950; Harbison,
1956; Young, 1971; Drucker, 1985). Many factors that precipitate the emergence and
development of new ventures have been researched and analyzed in depth in mature economies
(e.g. Koning & Sniders, 1992) and emerging economies (e.g. Kolvereid & Obloj, 1994; Regnier,
1998).
Why Study Entrepreneurship Programme
Entrepreneurship development has become Rubicon that is considered vital for the growth and
sustenance of a nation’s economic development. No wonder, the Federal Government of
N>igeria recognised this basic fact when it directed that institutions of higher learning should
make the study of entrepreneurship as a course compulsory for all undergraduate students. The
thinking is that a knowledgeable and empowered entrepreneur can be useful to the nation in the
area of providing job opportunities, enhancing economic activities, etc.
Role of Entrepreneurs in the Economy
Entrepreneurs or the growth of this profession is most critical to the attainment of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) in the area of socio-economic development of the nations. In view
of this, the government has put in place necessary measures to encourage the promotion of
entrepreneurship, as a discipline, in all institutions of higher learning in order to encourage and
prepare the minds of young graduates to own and set up their own businesses.
Recognising the indispensability of the small-scale, private sector enterprise as the dynamic
impetus for general economic development, many countries have instituted enterprise support
networks and structures to fuel the development of these enterprises. Nigeria is not an exception
in this regard. At various times since the 1970s, the government has designed and introduced a
variety of measures to promote small and medium enterprise development. These measures
included fiscal, monetary and export incentives.
Fiscal incentives introduced included tax holidays and tariff concessions. For instance, small
enterprises were given a tax holiday for the first six years of their operation. In terms of monetary
authority support, the Central Bank of Nigeria introduced credit guidelines requiring commercial
and merchant banks to allocate a portion of their loanable funds to small enterprises. A number of
developmental financial institutions and schemes were also established to aid the development of
the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country. These included the Nigeria Bank for
Commerce and Industry (NCBI), Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB), the so-called
Peoples Bank, the National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND), and the World Bank
SME I and SME II loan schemes. There were also export incentives from the Nigeria Export-
Import Bank (NEXIM) to stimulate export loan facilities to SMEs, and export duty draw-back
schemes administered by the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC).
Other incentive programmes were technical in nature, such as the provision of manpower training,
appropriate machinery selection and installation, machine repairs and maintenance, and extension
services. These services were provided by institutions such as the Industrial Development Centers
(IDCs) the Center for Industrial Research and Development (GIRD), the Center for Management
Development (CMD), Project Development Agency (PRODA) and the Raw Materials Research
and Development Council (RMRDC).
In the light of the above, the roles of entrepreneur as a profession and entrepreneurship as a
discipline in the educational curriculum of this country vis-à-vis economic development are it:
380
(1) reduces the cycle of poverty in all ramifications in the country;
(2) enhances the growth of trade and other business activities;
(3) encourages self-actualisation and self-empowerment;
(4) improves the standard of living of the people;