INFLUENCE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION ON ECONOMIC GROWTH OF COUNTY GOVERNMENTS IN KENYA: A CASE OF NAIROBI COUNTY
Daniel M. Waita - Masters in Entrepreneurship, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya
ABSTRACT
All over the world increasing attention is being paid to the potential of entrepreneurship education to facilitate high growth enterprises. There is a positive link between primary and secondary education and economic growth and development. Entrepreneurial activities and entrepreneurship education are considered crucial to the economic development of a given nations. These activities are not only the incubators of technological innovation; they provide employment opportunities and increase competitiveness. Entrepreneurship is increasingly recognized as an important generator of growth, innovation and especially new job creations. The role of entrepreneurship education as the driving force of economic growth found its most explicit foundation in Joseph Schumpeter's theory of long waves. This study sought to investigate the influence of entrepreneurship education on economic growth of county government with specific focus to Nairobi County. The study was guided by the following specific objectives, that is, to determine how innovativeness, business management skills, mentorship programmes and practical skills influence economic growth of Nairobi County government. The target population of this study was entrepreneurs with entrepreneurship education within Nairobi County. The study relied mostly on primary data sources. The study employed a simple random sampling technique in coming up with a sample size of 148 respondents. The study generated both qualitative and quantitative data where quantitative data was coded and entered into Statistical Packages for Social Scientists (SPSS Version 17.0) and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study concludes that entrepreneurial education encourages innovativeness; business management skills, mentorship programmes and practical skills are the most important aspects of the entrepreneurship education program. The study recommends that the education system should teach students the proper types of skills needed in the twenty-first century since entrepreneurship education contributes for the integration of a variety of business. To promote entrepreneurial activity most effectively, entrepreneurship education in HEI must be part of a larger network of resources. The study recommended that the organizational learning framework reflects not only the complexity of arguments, claims and counter claims.
