ABSTRACT
The study empirically investigated entrepreneurial intentions among undergraduate students in the university of Benin. Specifically, the study aimed at ascertaining the level of entrepreneurial intentions among undergraduate, to identify the push and pull factors compelling/attracting undergraduate students into the pursuance of entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the study’s goal was to examine the effect of the selected demographic variables (gender, age, academic level, and faculty) on students entrepreneurial intentions, while also ascertaining the major forms of businesses that the students are likely to pursue after their course of study. Lastly, part of the study objective was to identify factors serves as deterrents or discouragement to student’s entrepreneurial pursuit. In order to effective guide the study towards achievement of stated the objectives, five research questions were raised, and three hypotheses generated. The study population comprised all undergraduate full-time students of the university, of which data obtained from the school’s registry put the population at 43,329 for the 2019/2020 academic session. The study adopted a convenient sampling method and after due computation using the taro yamane’s sample size determination formular ( at10%), a total sample of 100 respondents was arrived at. The study adopted survey research design which entailed the use of structured questionnaire in ascertaining the opinion of the respondents on the subject matter. Data obtained for the study were analyzed using descriptive statistic, simple percentages, and frequency counts; while the one sample t-test, independent sample test, and one way anova were employed in testing the formulated hypothesis. The data were analyzed via the statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS) version 20.
Findings in the study indicated amongst other things that, undergraduate students have a high level of entrepreneurial intention, gender, age, and faculty affiliations significantly impacts on students entrepreneurial intentions, while academic level do not significantly impact on students intentions to pursue entrepreneurship, and the major factors discouraging student’s entrepreneurial intentions are limited access to finance/lack of startup funds, and lack of support from families and friends.
Based on the findings, the study recommended amongst other things that, universities should continue to enhance their entrepreneurship programs. through the offering of a wider range of courses, workshops, and resources to support student entrepreneurs. They should encourage students to collaborate with faculty members and local businesses. Universities can facilitate partnerships to help students gain practical experience and access resources.
