Digital Entrepreneurship: A Strategy for Curbing Youth Unemployment in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

Technological advancements had created an avenue for digitisation and the development of

information and communication technologies (ICT). This had created incredible potential and

benefits in electronic commerce (E-commerce) and entrepreneurial skills, especially among

youths. The study's main purpose was to explore digital entrepreneurship as a panacea for

reducing Nigeria's youth unemployment rate and providing new jobs. The study focused on the

effect of ICT on job creation, the extent to which e-commerce contributes to employment

creation and the influence of programmes geared towards spurring entrepreneurship training

on line. The study further tested null hypothesis to determine if there was no significant

relationship between digital entrepreneurship and employment creation. 110 owners of small

firms were surveyed to investigate how ICT, e-commerce, and online training programmes had

aided in the creation of jobs in Lagos state through descriptive tools and multiple regression

technique. The study findings showed that in Lagos state, ICT and e-commerce had substantially

contributed to job creation and aided in disseminating commercial activities to a wide range of

customers. The findings also showed that many people gained a wide range of skills through

online training programmes. The study recommended the advancement of e-commerce through

a reliable and affordable telecommunication network, provision of access to training platforms,

and affordable prices of various e-commerce training programmes.