Authors : Nkechi Mercy Okeke, Ann Ebere Okechukwu, Iheanyichukwu G. Ozurumba, Polycarp M.D. Okeke, Nwakaego Ebele Ekwealor, Stella Chioma Nwizu, Uzoamaka Lucynda Koledoye, Mary Chinyere Okengwu and Beatrice N. Onah
Abstract: The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which creation of ICT based enabling business environment enhances entrepreneurship in South-East, Nigeria. Three research questions were posed to identify the extent to which regulations, finance and training are utilized in the creation of ICT enabling business environment, to enhance entrepreneurship. One null hypothesis tested at 0.05 level of significance guided the study. The design used for the study was a descriptive survey and the instrument was a structured questionnaire. The population of the study was all the 1251 registered entrepreneurs of medium and large scale enterprises in the private sector, from which a sample of 723 respondents was drawn using a proportionate stratified random sampling technique. Mean and standard deviation were used in analyzing the data collected for the research questions and real limit of numbers was used to judge the responses as to whether they were high or low. The t-test statistics were used to test the hypothesis. Findings of the study showed that regulations, finance and training are utilized to a high extent in the creation of ICT enabling business environment to enhance Entrepreneurship in South-East, Nigeria. The null hypothesis of no significant difference in regulations was further accepted. Based on these findings, recommendations were made which include that the government should sustain the reduction of tax on internet facilities to promote the purchase of internet resources by entrepreneurs, the government should provide soft loans to entrepreneurs to enable their business benefit from greater ICT diffusion, educational institutions should incorporate digital courses at all levels of education to develop ICT compliant entrepreneurs and staff and entrepreneurs should organize on-the-job training and offer opportunities for in-service training to their staff to make them more competent in the use of ICT.
Nkechi Mercy Okeke, Ann Ebere Okechukwu, Iheanyichukwu G. Ozurumba, Polycarp M.D. Okeke, Nwakaego Ebele Ekwealor, Stella Chioma Nwizu, Uzoamaka Lucynda Koledoye, Mary Chinyere Okengwu and Beatrice N. Onah, 2020. Creation of ICT Enabling Business Environment to Enhance Entrepreneurship in South-East Nigeria. Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 15: 2585-2591.