Youthprenurship: A Gateway to Sustainable Development in Southeast, Nigeria

Youthprenurship in recent times has become a veritable tool in achieving sustainable development in both developed and developing countries. It is based on this, that this study examined youthpreneurship as a gateway to sustainable development in Southeast Nigeria, as a broad objective. It adopted a survey research design with a combined population of 200 youths selected randomly. A Likert structured questionnaire format was deployed for data collection. The analysis was carried out using correlation analysis, while hypotheses were tested at 5% level of significance. Findings revealed that there is a statistically significant positive relationship between youth empowerment and innovativeness (r = .981, p-value < 0.05). The study concluded that entrepreneurship remains one of the surest ways of getting employed and employing others. Among others, it was recommended that the creation of more youth empowerment programs should be one of the priorities of government and other well-meaning individuals, if they are serious about finding a way around unemployment in the region. Introduction Background of the Study The volatility of the global economy has beckoned for entrepreneurial doggedness and innovativeness of the global citizenry. There is a lot of youth unemployment in Nigeria, especially in the south eastern part of the country (Jwasshaka, Amin & Dogara, 2018). This situation has made unemployed youth within the region to venture into entrepreneurship. Youthprenurship seems to be an option to provide succour for these teeming unemployed youths. Youths are important for the growth of any nation, providing jobs for them and taking them out of poverty is therefore, paramount. Employment generation play a critical role in the economy of nations, this is part of the reason it formed a critical element of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and this may not be achieved in isolation without bringing the youths into the mix. Sustainable development has become a household concept among scholars and government of various nations. This increased interest in the concept is because of what it professes to International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences Vol. 1 1 , No. 4, 2021, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2021 HRMARS 1129 offer, leading to the captioning of a developmental programme as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Local and international agencies, churches and schools are not left out in the campaign for the achievement of SDGs. The frequent usage of the word may be attributed to the establishment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that subsequently gave birth to SDGs. The former was when 189 nations gathered in September 2000 at the United Nations headquarters and signed the establishment of MDGs, with the aim of achieving a set of eight agenda (goals) that would help to ameliorate the sufferings of the developing and under-developed nations. These goals summarily range from reduction of extreme poverty, hunger, promoting gender equality, reducing child mortality to a bearable minimum, improving maternal health, combating disease etc. The MDGs goals expired in the year 2015, and thus ushered in the SDGs which is more comprehensive and encompassing, and has its life span till 2030 (2015 – 2030). SDG has a 17 aim agenda that summarily includes promotion of sustainable economic growth, employment, decent work for all, reduction of inequality among countries etc (United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 2015). Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a development that meets the needs and aspiration of the present without compromising the future; sees the youth as part and parcel of the major groups which the United Nations (UN) would work together with to ensure the attainment of the said agenda (UN Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform, 2015). The global youth population is put at about 1.8 billion, aged between 15–24, based on the UN definition of youth. African youths are said to be about 200 million (Odoh & Eme, 2014). Nigeria youths are people between the ages of 18 – 35, and they formed the largest segment of the Nigeria population (Kolade, Towobala, Orasanye, Ayami & Omodewu, 2014). Interestingly, the African youth population is expected to grow in future, while the youth population in other parts of the globe are expected to shrink (Gyimah-Brepong & Kimenyi, 2013). Youths are a veritable part of any economy, this is because of their size, dynamism, energy and age. This is why they are regarded as the future leaders, economic and political drivers of any nation (Odoh & Eme, 2014). However, it seems to have become a mirage, that this particular segment of our society is facing all manner of challenges such as unemployment, underemployment, hunger, poverty, illiteracy and different forms of diseases (Mulvey, 2005). According to International Labour Organization (ILO) (2017), between 1997 to 2017, the youth population added by 139 million while the youth labour force contrasted by 34.9 million, and that in the near future, most of the youths are expected to be unemployed in the developing countries. Undoubtedly, juxtaposing the above statistics with the current situation of youth unemployment in Nigeria, and the southeast in particular, the need to nip off the problem in the bud to avoid getting out of hand needs urgent attention. Southeast is one of the geopolitical zones in Nigeria with the highest number of unemployed youth after the South-South zone (National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), 2020). These damning statistics make a case for a study of this nature to be undertaken. The study is narrowed down to two states in the southeast, Imo and Anambra state. The narrowing down was necessitated by the fact that Imo state has the highest number of unemployed youths in Nigeria (48.7%) while Anambra state has the least number of unemployed youths in Nigeria (13.1%) (NBS, 2021). This study, therefore, seeks to ascertain the relationship between youthpreneurship and achievement of sustainable development in southeast, Nigeria, as the broad objective. Specifically, however, the study seeks to: Determine the extent of relationship that exists between youth empowerment and Innovativeness in Southeast, Nigeria. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences Vol. 1 1 , No. 4, 2021, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2021 HRMARS 1130 Conceptual and Theoretical Issues Entrepreneurship This is the quality and dexterity needed to become an entrepreneur. It is also the capacity needed for inventing and generating innovative business ideas, coordinating resources, organizing production, marketing the product, and managing the inherent risks. Onuoha (2007) opines that entrepreneurship is the process of creating new organizations or revitalizing an already existing business organization with the view of identifying business opportunities. Schumpeter (1970) as cited in Eroglu and Picak (2011) aver that entrepreneurs are the people who make use of market opportunities through technological inventions. In the views of Mohammed (2008), it is the process undertaken by a risk-taker, called the entrepreneur to establish a progressive business by discovering business opportunities, organizing them, managing the risks and as well contributing to economic growth. Entrepreneurship just like other areas of specialization has no single definition. Everyone views the concept from different perspective and backgrounds. However, it could be said to have four key elements. They are: I. Vision: This has to do with sporting emerging business opportunities. II. Innovation: Inventing new business or hatching new ideas of doing things. III. Risk Bearing: Facing business challenges and uncertainties IV. Organizing: Coordinating the necessary resources needed in setting up a business. Youthprenurship This is an aspect of entrepreneurship designed to influence an entrepreneurial culture and spirit among youths that will foster personnel and economic development. This concept empowers young to look towards self-employment and generate employment opportunities for themselves and others. They are motivated to establish an entrepreneurial venture because of their motive to become an employer of labour, obtain an alternative source of income, provide innovative and competitive products and services (Riah, 2010). According to small business leadership (2017), youthpreneur has three transitionary periods, which includes: ▪ Pre-Entrepreneurs: These are entrepreneurs who are still at the incubating stage. They have gathered much experience. These are people between the ages of 15 – 19. They are entrepreneurs who need various entrepreneurship possibilities. Entrepreneurship orientation and awareness at this stage is key. ▪ Budding Entrepreneurs: This is the second stage of youthprenurship development. These are entrepreneurs between the ages of 20-24. They have been equipped with entrepreneurial exposures and confidence to establish their own business. Intensive entrepreneurial development training is needs at this stage for survival. ▪ Emergent Entrepreneurs: These sets of youthpreneurs are the most equipped and experienced of the youthpreneurs. They have access to many things like capital, mentors and operational support. Their businesses are already in the market and they just needed only tactical skills for growth and expansion. Youth Empowerment This is the idea of equipping, strengthening and encouraging young people to take the initiative on how to be in charge of their life. This will inculcate the habit of self-actualization and independence among the youths, reduce unemployment, crime and other social vices ravaging the society in recent times. Akintola and Adiat (2013) opine that youth International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences Vol. 1 1 , No. 4, 2021, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2021 HRMARS 1131 empowerment creates enabling atmosphere for an individual by improving the zeal to perform. Th