ENTREPRENEURSHIP POLICY EVALUATION AND DECISION ANALYSIS FOR JOB CREATION

This study investigates the institutional foundations of entrepreneurship policy in Nigeria by assessing the design and effectiveness of the N-Power programme as a mechanism for employment generation. Despite years of government intervention, the country continues to experience weak entrepreneurial dynamism, as evidenced by Nigeria’s Index of Dynamic Entrepreneurship (IDE) score of 0.387. Using an ex post facto research design, the study examines secondary data across ten dimensions of the IDE framework to evaluate the enabling environment for entrepreneurship. Anchored in institutional theory, the analysis identifies low scores in technology absorption (0.30), product innovation (0.33), and networking (0.35), signaling weak institutional coordination, policy incoherence, and limited access to innovation systems. While dimensions such as start-up skills (0.50) and opportunity perception (0.45) suggest pockets of progress, these are insufficient to drive sustainable enterprise development. The N-Power programme, although ambitious in scope, represents the risks of treating entrepreneurship policy as a standalone intervention rather than as part of a institutional ecosystem. The study concludes that sustainable job creation in Nigeria requires institutional coherence where rules, norms, and enforcement mechanisms are predictable, aligned, and responsive. Policy recommendations focus on regulatory reform, mandate clarity, and the formalization of support structures for entrepreneurship.