ENTREPRENEURS’ PERCEPTIONS OF TECHNOLOGY, ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITIES AND PERCEIVED ECONOMIC GROWTH: EVIDENCE FROM IWO, OSUN STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Nigeria has a large and diverse entrepreneurial base, but the ability of entrepreneurs to convert opportunities into productive enterprise activity is shaped by digital infrastructure, finance, skills and institutions. This study examined entrepreneurs’ perceptions of the relationship between technology and the utilization of entrepreneurial opportunities and assessed the perceived relationship between entrepreneurship, technology and economic growth among selected entrepreneurs in Iwo, Osun State, Nigeria. It did not measure Nigeria’s objective macroeconomic growth, such as changes in real gross domestic product. A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was used with 300 valid responses. The supplied statistical outputs were examined with Pearson’s chi-square tests at the .05 significance level. The association between technology and the utilization of entrepreneurial opportunities approached but did not reach statistical significance (χ² = 11.101, df = 6, p = .051, N = 300). The association between entrepreneurship, technology and respondents’ perceived economic growth was not statistically significant (χ² = 8.347, df = 6, p = .402, N = 300). Both results require caution because the reported outputs contained sparse expected cells. Cramér’s V could not be recovered from the supplied summary tables because the underlying crosstab dimensions were not provided. The findings therefore describe respondents’ perceptions and do not establish causal or national-level macroeconomic effects. Recommendations are presented as context-sensitive policy options suggested by the literature and by the observed measurement limitations