It is now widely acknowledged that entrepreneurs can contribute significantly to stimulating a country's sustainable development, and that in the developing world they play a critical role in contributing to economic growth, job creation and the reduction of poverty. Studies show that poverty is highly prevalent in parts of most Sub-Saharan African States, including Nigeria, especially among rural dwelling populations. A key strategy for combating this problem in developing countries is therefore the targeted encouragement of new entrepreneurial projects. In Nigeria, the government is embarking on such initiatives that aim to help alleviate poverty through the promotion of new small and medium business enterprises.

In developing countries generally:

• There are more entrepreneurial opportunities.

• The higher number of entrepreneurial opportunities is reflected in the higher rates of opportunity-motivated entrepreneurs that enter the market.

• Slow economic growth in the formal sector means that a large proportion of the population have no choice but to be self-employed: however, often they lack the opportunities, mindset and skills needed to start and run a small business successfully.

• Entrepreneurship is considered to be an important mechanism for alleviating poverty, through employment, innovation, and welfare effects.

• Entrepreneurship by a large, concentrated group of entrepreneurs is an important and dynamic driver of economic development, as the slow pace of larger scale industrial growth offers few alternative employment opportunities.

Unemployment in Nigeria is growing. Almost 55% of the population are unemployed and another 15% underemployed. Typically, university graduates can take 10 years or more to find a job, leading some to take their hard earned talents and skills to pursue career opportunities in other countries.

A large part of the Nigerian economy is dependent on finite resources of oil and gas, but because these industries are not labour intensive, there is a vast unskilled, informal sector of economic activity that continues to grow, while a majority of the population is also left unemployed, creating significant social problems.

A central part of the Nigerian government's initiative to combat unemployment and other social problems is therefore to promote to Nigerians the idea of creating jobs as an alternative to trying to find employment in industry or the public sector - to become entrepreneurs and start businesses of their own. However, in Nigeria there is a significant lack of tertiary-level training and education in entrepreneurial skills.

For these reasons, students and unemployed graduates in Nigeria urgently need to be encouraged to become entrepreneurs - to start their own small businesses, and be equipped with the necessary skills that enable them to do so.