The challenge

Wellbeing is foundational to the personal and professional success of all young people. But in low-income countries, including Nigeria, high unemployment and structural inequalities can limit young people’s confidence and access to opportunities. In these contexts, supporting young entrepreneurs can enable them to unlock their potential.

Research impact - Promoting positive change through entrepreneurship

Using an innovative co-production approach, the ESRC IAA-funded Nigeria Young Entrepreneurs programme has created a peer network in Enugu, Southeast Nigeria. The programme empowered young entrepreneurs to start or develop businesses. In low-income countries such as Nigeria, high unemployment, poverty and structural inequalities can prevent young people fulfilling their personal and professional potential. According to the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics, 63% (133 million) of the national population live in multidimensional poverty. In this challenging context, entrepreneurship can improve socio-economic outcomes and enable business opportunities that build entrepreneurs’ confidence and wellbeing.

Underpinned by the research study, ‘Resilience through International Networks’ (Williams et al., 2021), the ongoing Nigeria Young Entrepreneurs programme, which started in 2022, has comprised of training workshops, feedback sessions, mentoring, investment, networking, and pitch meetings. Designed and organised by a multi-disciplinary team of academics from the University of Bristol, with the support of business experts and creative partners, the programme has had a transformative impact on the lives of its young participants.

Cyprain Arinze, the founder of a growing multimedia venture, reported that the training has altered his perspective on the possibilities of business: ‘The programme changed my mindset about what business or entrepreneurship could be. I was able to see some of the challenges that could actually knock you off-balance during business’. Ogechi Nwonye, the enthusiastic founder of Eco-Cyclers, a waste-management and climate-education organisation, reflected on the programme’s holistic impact: ‘It has helped positively, very generally, in every aspect of my life. I have made something tangible and worthwhile. This has also helped increase my own quality of life financially and economically.’

Integrating knowledge and methods from education, entrepreneurship, sociology, politics, and international studies, the programme lead, Dr Zibah Nwako, and her colleagues at the University of Bristol have established a knowledge-transfer programme informed by contemporary research. Working collaboratively with a small group of 23-to-32-year-old entrepreneurs in Enugu, the research team has created a website raising awareness about the programme, and co-designed a free, open-access training guide suitable for young entrepreneurial start-ups across Sub-Saharan Africa.

The first cohort of young entrepreneurs, who describe themselves as ‘pioneers’ and ‘changemakers’, report that the programme has propelled them towards achieving positive change. Maryjane Ugwuanyi, a participant who has created a clothing brand for women and children, said: ‘When I start [my business] now, I’m going to start on a different level.’
Beyond the programme’s direct impacts on its participants’ lives, it has also contributed to increasing context-specific knowledge about the youth-enterprise sector in Sub-Saharan Africa, and advanced methodology, theory and practice for entrepreneurial ventures in the region. The project’s preliminary findings will be presented in a forthcoming academic paper, ‘Speaking a common language: Young people performing entrepreneurship in Enugu, Nigeria.’

Scaling up impact

Building on the success of the pilot project in Enugu, the next step is to scale up the project and make the training model and resources available to other micro start-ups, small businesses and organisations that support entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa. This will be achieved through an ‘accelerator’ programme enabling the research team to focus on improving user experiences and extend the project’s geographical reach. In order to sustain the longer-term aims of the programme, a context-specific train-the-trainer model will also be developed.

As the programme evolves, it aims to collaborate with African youth-enterprise organisations; encourage more young entrepreneurs to access the training programme; engage and advance strong stakeholder networks; and influence policy by recommending that the training component is included in the African Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) curriculum within Sub-Saharan education systems.