Project Abstract

This research work tired to evaluate the extent of development in Entrepreneurship in a depressed economy like Nigeria. A closer and pragmatic approach was used by using Nigerian Association of Small-Scale Industrialists (NASSI) Enugu State Chapter. NASSI has been seen as one of the nations governmental agency involved in manpower development and training and financing small-scale industrialists.

A lot of literatures by different authors were consulted in reviewing the related literatures based on these subheadings.

a.                 Meaning and history of entrepreneurship development in Nigeria.

b.                 Meaning and functions of an entrepreneurship

c.                 Qualities of an entrepreneur

d.                  Activities of NASSI

e.                 Problems of NASSI

Nevertheless, Nigerian Association of Small-Scale Industrialists (NASSI) is faced by some problems such as

i)                   Poor funding

ii)               Poor means of transportation and communication

iii)             No accommodation

iv)             Bad road network in Enugu

v)               Poor business activities etc

Looking at this the following is being recommended for improving this developmental objective.

a.                 Government commitment it developing the sector, this giving the much desired self-reliance a priority by investing in the project.

b.                 The entire citizenry are enjoined to be creative thus being involved in creation of opportunities for self-reliance rather than relying on government and other big companies for their jobs.

c.                 The provision of an organized loan-revolving scheme, thus making it mandatory for benefactors to repay in time.

d.                 Nassi should as well try and organize their curricular towards giving trainings that are practical and not theory so as to feel the impact soonest. And finally the need to inculcate into our psych and schema the need to be technologically self-reliant.

However therefore, the research is suggesting that further studies could be done on this by evaluating the impact of small-scale enterprises in the economy. And the prospects of the Nigerian Entrepreneur in a depressed economy.

Consequently, the research solicits for NASSI to be more pragmatic in their operation vis-à-vis the decree of which they were established and then government in its own effort to try and create an enabling environment for entrepreneurship development. In this words Abrahim Maslow (A psychologist known for his theories regarding human needs) “indicated that the most valuable 100 people to bring into deteriorating society would not be economists, or politicians or engineer rather 100 entrepreneurs.”

Project Overview

1.1            INTRODUCTOPN

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The need to incorporate in our system the need to be technologically self-reliant cannot be over-emphasized. The first step is to develop our human and natural resources, thus increasing our per capital income. In the past even years, or more, especially during the administration of Ibrahim Babangida, Nigeria has constantly pursued an economic policy that is geared towards self-reliance for the individual as show by such programmes as the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) which is a graduate assistance scheme aimed at helping young school leavers to acquire necessary skills and funds that will help them to start their own business, other programmes with such mission include the people bank, Family Economic Advancement Programme (FEAP) and Nigerian Association of Small-scale Industrialists (NASSI).

The entrepreneur and his activities forms an integral part in the development of our economy. At this point, it becomes pertinent to define who is an entrepreneur and why we are having an insight into his plight to actualize the aims and objectives of its existence.

Nwana, L.E. (1995:32) defined an entrepreneur as an individual who is willing and able to take business risks for gainful purpose”.

Despite the aspirations of many, only a few people in this country and indeed Enugu our place of concentration has carried out their intention of having business established by them. Studies have been shown that 90% of these who seriously decided to incorporate a company five or more years ago have not yet done so. In Enugu state our emphasis will concentrate on the Nigerian Association of Small-Scale Industrialists (NASSI) Enugu State chapter, formed in 1978 owing to the creation of Enugu State in 1991, the Enugu office was established, to represent the organized small-scale industrialists in the state, thus tries to uplift the status of this sector.

The NASSI has its chapter in all the seventeen (17) local government areas of the state aimed at inculcating into our society, the spirit of owing and controlling business at the grass root level, to facilitate the much desired self-reliance on our locally made goods and services, self-reliance on the national economy as show in the policies of banning the importation of certain goods into this country, the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) which among other things aims at sourcing of our own raw materials for the industries locally, though many see it as backward integration the maintenance culture is also part of our attempts so self-reliance.