ABSTRACT

This study investigated on the government
entrepreneurial policies that facilitate entrepreneurship and how effective
these policies are on telecommunication organizations. It focused on the
empirical study of creating knowledge about entrepreneurship development in
Nigeria. It studied the government efforts towards resolving the problems of
entrepreneurship: lack of finance,
managerial and technological know how, education and  training, lack of experienced expatriate and
local completion, inadequate infrastructure leading to high cost and finally
high burden of taxation. The major findings of this research include;
Government entrepreneurial development policies have immensely improved
entrepreneurial organizations, these organizations in turn have contributed a
lot towards economic and national development especially in the aspect of
reducing unemployment and generating income. The most important incentive given
to entrepreneurs by government is finance. The entrepreneurs still encounter
other problems in areas of technical and managerial known how, employee
training and development, poor supply of infrastructure. Based on these
findings, the researcher strongly recommends that entrepreneurial organizations
should be included in training and development of their managers and other
staff to acquire managerial and technical know how to enable them cope with the
challenges of modern management. For the maintenance of human variable, there
is need for human resource improvement. I humbly recommend to the Government to
draft programmes like workshops, seminars, and career development programme
which should have incentives attached to them. I humbly recommend to the
Government to compel the environment to be supportive to entrepreneurs e.g.
finance houses and banks should grant them loans. I humbly recommend to
Government to equally give them grants from time to time, reduce the burden of
tax and implement already made policies for the entrepreneurs. I equally
recommend to Government to provide basic infrastructure like electricity, pipe
borne water, boreholes, access roads, suitable spaces, market places for these
products especially in the rural areas to reduce the cost encountered by the
entrepreneurs. The researcher therefore concludes, that as the “foundation for
growth and national development”, entrepreneurs are indispensable and must be
given paramount attention by the government. 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   Background of the Study

Nigeria is naturally endowed with entrepreneurship
opportunities; however the realization of the full potential of these
opportunities has been dampened by the adoption of inappropriate
industrialization policies at different times. Several policy interventions
that were aimed at stimulating entrepreneurship development via small and
medium scale enterprises promotion, based on technology transfer strategy, have
failed to achieve the desired goals as it led to the most indigenous
entrepreneurs becoming distribution agents of imported products as opposed to
building in-country entrepreneurial capacity for manufacturing, mechanized
agriculture and expert services (Thaddeus, 2012).With the collapse of the last
vestiges of the socialist economic system in 1991, virtually the whole world
has embraced free enterprise economic system. Entrepreneurship is the
cornerstone and at the heart of the free enterprise economy (Popoola, 2014).

Prominent firms across the globe have at one point or
the other integrated and dominated commercial and merchandising activities in
the telecommunication sector in Nigeria were NITEL, MTN, Airtel, 9mobile,
Globacom, Smile, Spectranet and so on. Some of these Companies grew so large
that few, if any of the economic decisions could be wisely initiated and
instituted in Nigeria without soliciting and obtaining their co-operation.

The purpose of every entrepreneurial firm is to
diversify economic activities and also to create opportunities within the
economy. Government entrepreneurial development policies include those policies
which have been put in place by the government to enhance the productivity of
entrepreneurs.

1.2 
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

The poor performance of
entrepreneurial organizations are due to lack of finance, managerial and
technological know how, education and training, experienced expatriate and
local completion, inadequate infrastructure leading to high costs and huge
burden of taxation.

The statement of the problem in this
study is therefore to investigate the ways in which government policies have
improved the performance of entrepreneurial organizations especially in the
telecommunication industry. It studies the government efforts towards resolving
the problems of entrepreneurs and thus developing them to take up the
challenges thrown to them as the ENGINES OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE “LAST
RESORT”.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE
STUDY

The objective of this study is to investigate:

1.                
Those government positive interventions that can
develop the entrepreneurs to attain their peak in corporate performance.

2.                
The major problems facing entrepreneurship
development and the diverse ways in which government aims at resolving these
problems.

3.                
The various ways of assessing co-operate
performance either by the

entrepreneur himself or by external
bodies to ascertain the extent to which the objectives of the entrepreneur has
been met.

1.4  RESEARCH
HYPOTHESES.

Hypothesis 1:        There is no significant relationship
between government

entrepreneurial development
strategies and the performance of entrepreneurs.       

financial problems and entrepreneurial
performance.

1.5   SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY.

The overall returns of this study
shall be beneficial to the economy as a whole. It is therefore hoped that the
perusal of findings would be of great help to individuals, institutions,
entrepreneurial organizations in the telecommunication sector, government and
researchers who will make use of this work. This study has the potentials of
making important  contributions for
instance;

Firstly, to graduates and school
leavers, who if they find themselves unemployed could gain for themselves
employment.

Secondly, businessmen will find this
study interesting, as it will show why many entrepreneurs did not succeed and
recommend possible criteria for success. 
Thirdly, government will find out the reasons for the low level of entrepreneurial
development and then provide a better and enabling environment for potential
and prospective entrepreneurs in the telecommunication sector. This will also
go ahead to increase  employment  and income.

Furthermore, this study will show
how rapid and sustained entrepreneurship development will promote industrial
development in Nigerian and finally, it will be found useful for academic
purposes.

1.6   LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

There were some impediments that
limited this study. Time and finance were major setbacks. Transportation
demanded so much money and updates from the internet as well. The researcher
could not reach all the entrepreneurs in all the industries. Random samples of
the entrepreneurs were taken from selected firms in Anambra state. The
researcher was unable to collect the entire questionnaire issued out. The time
to move from one library to the other, type and distribute questionnaire posed
a constraint because of engagement at my workplace. Despite all these, the
researcher was able to carry out the study.

1.7   DEFINITION OF TERMS

1.                
ORGANIZATION:
According to Onwuchekwa (2000), Organization is the association of two or more
individuals working cooperatively together for a common purpose under authority
and leadership.

2.                
MANAGEMENT:
According to Stoner (1982), management is the process of planning, organizing,
leading and controlling efforts of organizational members and of using all
other organizational resources to achieve stated organizational objectives.

3.                
ENTREPRENEUR:
An entrepreneur is an individual, or a group of

individuals, who undertake the
responsibility of making innovations in the economy or carries out a new
organization. 

4.                
GOVERNMENT:
Government is part of the environment of business and

within a focal country which
exercises legal and regulatory control over all business organization, as well
as initiates the major strategies for the attainment of national development
objectives. It could also be seen as a person or group of persons into whose
hands the state has placed for the time being, functions of political control.

5.                
POLICIES:
Policies are guides and directives that are formulated to shape the thinking,
actions and decisions of a people in a given area.

6.                
BUSINESS:
Business is the planned activities of individuals or groups of people aimed at
producing and selling, for a profit, the goods and services that satisfy the
need of consumers.

7.                
ENVIRONMENT:
The environment of an organization include those

individuals, organizations,
government agencies, suppliers, distributors, press, etc. who in one way or the
other help an organization to carry out its productive activities but are not
subject to the control of that organization.

8.                
TECHNOLOGY:
Technology is the state of the art of doing things in a

society in order to achieve goals.

9.                
PRIVATIZATION:
Privatization is the process of change of ownership,

either in whole or in part from the government or
state to the private sector.

10.           
CORPORATE
EFFECTIVENESS: Corporate effectiveness is the same as organizational worth,
which is the extent to which an organization as a social system, given certain
resources and means, fulfils its objectives and without placing undue strain
upon its members.