Entrepreneurship Initiative for Socio-Economic Wellbeing of Adults with Disabilities in Port Harcourt Metropolis, Rivers State, Nigeria

The study examined entrepreneurship initiative for socio-economic wellbeing of adults with disabilities in Port Harcourt metropolis, Rivers State, Nigeria. To achieve the purpose of the study, the study developed two (3) objectives of the study, research questions and hypotheses that guided the conduct of the study. The study adopted descriptive survey design. The area of the study was in Port Harcourt metropolis, Rivers State. The population of the study was made up of 350 male and female adults with disabilities from the association of persons with disabilities in Port Harcourt metropolis, Rivers State Nigeria. This comprises of two hundred and fifty (250) male and one hundred (100) female, making a total of three hundred and fifty (350). The sample size of this study is one hundred and eighty six (186) consisting of one hundred and twenty (120) male and sixty six (66) female adults with disabilities in Port Harcourt metropolis, Rivers State Nigeria. The instrument used for the study was a structured questionnaire titled: “Entrepreneurship Initiative for Socio-Economic Wellbeing of Adults with Disabilities Questionnaire (EISEWADQ)”. The instrument was face and content validated by two experts in Measurement and Evaluation, and tested for reliability using Cronbach Alpha statistics which yielded reliability indexes of 0.81, 0.85 and 0.83 was obtained showing the instrument was reliable. The research questions were analysed using mean and standard deviation statistics while the null hypotheses were tested using z-test statistics at 0.05 level of significance. Based on the analysis, the study revealed that entrepreneurship awareness, vocational rehabilitation and startup fund as entrepreneurship initiative for socio-economic wellbeing of adults with disabilities in Port Harcourt metropolis, Rivers State, Nigeria is to a high extent. Based on the findings, the study recommended that the government and private organizations should organize periodic entrepreneurship seminars, workshops and conferences to increase entrepreneurship awareness for persons with disabilities, among others. However, it was also concluded that entrepreneurship initiative for adult with disabilities, can boost their earnings, socio-economic wellbeing and increase the country’s GDPs as well as their social status which facilitates more growth/production and further boost the economy of the Nation. It was also concluded that entrepreneurship awareness, vocational rehabilitation and startup fund as entrepreneurship initiative can enhance socio-economic wellbeing of adults with disabilities to a high extent.

Entrepreneurship Initiative, Socio-Economic, Wellbeing, Adults, Disabilities

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