Entrepreneurship development in bangladesh: Youth perception and institutional initiatives

Abstract

Entrepreneurship development is one of the pre-conditions for economic surges in a country. It has a great deal of prospects in Bangladesh, as it has a huge number of young people. If the young generation of the country turns into skilled human resources through building self-efficacy, education, training, and providing the required entrepreneurial facilities and awareness, sustainable economic development might be more augmented. But the youth of Bangladesh are confronting a great deal of hitches in their perception regarding entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial ecosystem. There are some reasons behind, for which the young generation does not aspire after being entrepreneurs. This issue urges to be addressed with deep concern, especially for the youth studying in various higher educational institutions. If the desired portion of the youth of Bangladesh builds positive attitudes towards entrepreneurship rather than chasing a job, an evolution may occur in the socio-economic arena in the near future. So, this study aimed at unraveling youth perception and institutional initiatives, and the nexus with entrepreneurship development in Bangladesh. Mixed-method and convergent research design has been used in this study. Multi-stage sampling techniques have been used to determine sample size and distribution. 400 randomly selected respondents have been surveyed with structured questionnaires for quantitative data, while 21 in-depth interviews and nine KIIs have been conducted for qualitative data. Data collected from primary and secondary sources has been analyzed to get the findings of the study. The findings show that 71.5 percent of the respondents are male, 11.8 percent are married, 84.3 percent are Muslims, 58.3 percent of the respondents’ families live in rural areas, and 77.2 percent are nuclear. The scenario of the desired occupation of the respondents’ shows that 85 percent of the respondents do not want to be entrepreneurs in the existing perceived situation. The study shows that only 26.5 percent of the respondents have a positive perception toward socio-economic initiatives (SOCECO). While the rest are either negative or neutral. The overall scenario of perception toward political, government, and NGO initiatives (POGONGO) is not found to be satisfactory. The study shows that only 30.2 percent of the respondents have strongly positive or positive perceptions. That is not conducive to entrepreneurship development in Bangladesh. The study findings also show that 59.8% of the respondents have positive attitudes toward entrepreneurship. The average score (3.699) of the responses to the variables measuring entrepreneurial intention (YEI) also represents the same scenario. In addition, there is a significant correlation found between youth perceptions toward institutional initiatives (YPII) and (YEI). That means there is a significant relationship between the variables YPII and YEI. The PERFAM, SOCECO, and POGONGO (IVs) can statistically and significantly impact the YEI (DV). PERFAM and SOCECO have a significant positive impact on YEI and, in turn, entrepreneurship development. Though POGONGO has a negative impact on YEI, which is not significant at all. The YPII and YEI have a strong nexus with entrepreneurship development. Though the score of PERFAM is found to be 3.46, which is slightly positive. The score of SOCECO is found to be only 3.00, which indicates that the respondents are neither negative nor positive in these respects. And the score of POGONGO is found to be only 3.04, which also points out that the respondents are neither negative nor positive. These portray that entrepreneurship development is unfeasible in Bangladesh in the concurrently perceived situation. In summary, it can be concluded that PERFAM is slightly congenial, while SOCECO and POGONGO are uncongenial for entrepreneurship development in Bangladesh. Though YEI is found to be conducive to entrepreneurship development. But YPII demands some corrective measures, without which entrepreneurship development may be unattainable in the contemporary context of Bangladesh. Because there is a strong nexus between the YEI, YPII, and entrepreneurship development (ED). These need a fine-tuned, synchronized, and balanced relationship among them to ensure the development of entrepreneurship in Bangladesh. Based on the major findings, the researcher recommends taking some remedial measures to reshape the youth mindset for entrepreneurship development in Bangladesh. It is expected that the findings of this study will carry multiple benefits for the concerned stakeholders, like the youth, educational institutions, policy-makers, and so forth, for the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and youth entrepreneurship in Bangladesh.