The aim of this paper is to advance the position that Nigeria's indigenous technologies present significant opportunities for local economic transformation and, to some extent, for global competitiveness. An analysis of three major indigenous technology clusters in Nigeria, as well as a review of three successful country cases was performed. This was with a view to identifying structural and policy directions for the country. The study provided preliminary insight into a very broad landscape and call for further analyses relating to mapping the Indigenous Knowledge (IK) and Indigenous Technology (I-Tech) systems of economies.
The study examined the technological innovation sources, the relevance of these sources as well as institutional supports and their significance to the innovativeness of small and medium manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) in Southwestern Nigeria. The data for the study were collected through questionnaire and interview schedule from a sample of 100 manufacturing SMEs. The results reveal that the key information sources for innovation among these companies are customers; suppliers of equipment and machinery; seminars, training and conferences; market research and business associations. None of the external inputs that the companies needed for internal learning and innovation come from government agencies. The results suggest the urgent need for enterprise-oriented technology transfer from public funded R&D institutions to link the science and technology system with small and medium enterprises production units. Similarly, the SMEs associations should be strengthened to provide opportunities for their members to continuously learn about new technology developments and opportunities to enhance the competitiveness of enterprises in the sector.
The specific factors that influence the entrepreneurial inclination of students were studied with a view to designing appropriate policies on entrepreneurship within tertiary institutions. The sample for the study consisted of 7,560 students from a total of 25 tertiary institutions with 83% response rate. While we found that entrepreneurial interest among Nigerian students is quite high, the expression of this interest in practice is rather low. The main factors found to significantly explain entrepreneurial interest are parents" educational qualifications, family entrepreneurial history, family sociodemographics, students" entrepreneurial experience, and students" socio-demographics. Of the fourteen variables identified as being central in encouraging students" entrepreneurial interests, only five can be defined as necessary, though but not sufficient, conditions to stimulate interest: gender, number of children by father, position among mother"s children, father"s monthly income and entrepreneurial education. This has policy implications both for government and the institutions. The study is the first of its magnitude in Nigeria and provides baseline information for researchers and policy makers who need to better understand the dynamics of entrepreneurship among Nigerian youth.
Entrepreneurship is acknowledged to be a significant driver of national wealth. In this paper, we present a framework for developing technological entrepreneurship particularly for developing countries, with supporting policy directions. Our thesis is that technological entrepreneurship, which exploits existing scientific and technological knowledge to meet market needs-is what brings about the national productivity and competitiveness that entrepreneurship is said to provide. Our framework stresses the fact that the innovation process is facilitated by technological entrepreneurship which is in turn pre-conditioned within the context of favorable policies, institutions, financial and institutional support.
There are insufficient management functions that begin with planning, institutional arrangements and technical handling of e-waste materials in Nigeria. Modern trends in recycling still fall short of global practices. This study examined Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) management strategies in Southeastern Nigeria with a view to suggesting appropriate implementable measures. It used an investigative approach through questionnaire administration. Twenty local government areas were purposively selected from five mutually exclusive strata of states. Data from 36 government agencies/offices were analyzed using percentage and linear multiple regression. Results revealed that WEEE management strategies were inadequate. The study concluded that WEEE management strategies were inapt and poorly implemented. Regulatory bodies should therefore urgently embrace and adopt appropriate management strategies, conduct periodic inventories of WEEE types and quantity and encourage the set-up and enforcement of cutting edge standards for modern facilities designated for the disposal of e-waste materials.
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