Leveraging E-Commerce and Entrepreneurship Pathway among Unemployed Graduates in Rivers State Nigeria.

Leveraging E-Commerce and Entrepreneurship Pathway among Unemployed Graduates in Rivers State Nigeria.

Osarosee, Ekhator Osagie and Laoye, Adedipupo David

Department of Management (Entrepreneurship), Ignatius Ajuru University of Education,

Port Harcourt, Rivers State Nigeria.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.51244/IJRSI.2024.1109099

Received: 06 September 2024; Accepted: 11 September 2024; Published: 18 October 2024

ABSTRACT

This paper examined the impact of leveraging on e-commerce as a pathway to entrepreneurship among unemployed graduates in Rivers state Nigeria. The objectives of the study were as follows; to examine the relationship between e-tailing and venture opportunity identification, to ascertain the relationship between e-tailing and new venture lunch, to examine the relationship between e-hailing and venture opportunity identification, ascertain the relationship between e-hailing and new venture lunch. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data from graduates who engage in e-commerce activities. Both primary and secondary sources of data were used. The study population were 700, Taro Yamani was used to determine a sample size of 400 from three LGA (Obio-Akpo, Ikwerre and Port Harcourt) in Rivers state Nigeria. The copies of questionnaires returned were 370, afterwards Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used for the determining validation and the reliability of the instrument at 0.75. Exploratory research design was adopted for the study. SPSS Version 20.0 was used to analyze the retrieved questionnaires. From the analyses, the study found out that leveraging on e-commerce has significantly impacted on entrepreneurship pathway among unemployed graduates in Rivers state Nigeria. The study recommended that unemployed graduates in Rivers state should stop waiting for white collar jobs instead they should consider becoming entrepreneurs by leveraging on e-commerce opportunities such as e-tailing and e-hailing, it is essential for unemployed graduates to acquire the required digital skills to enable them take advantage of these opportunities posed by e-commerce also, both Federal and State government should endeavor to establish youth development training centers that will help train unemployed graduates on ICT and entrepreneurial skills.

Keywords: E-commerce, E-tailing, E-hailing, Entrepreneurship, Pathway, Venture, Opportunity, Identification, Lunch.

INTRODUCTION

Today, the nature of e-commerce in Nigeria has greatly disrupted the way many consumers shop. However, e-commerce also follow similar fundamental principles as traditional commerce which mandate buyers and sellers coming together with the sole or main purpose of exchanging goods for money. Instead of operating business in the conventional traditional way of in-stores and “brick-and-mortar” buildings, it could also be through telephone operators and mail order catalogs, electronic commerce enable buyers and sellers conduct their businesses using the computer networks thereby offering buyers the advantage of convenience. Buyers can now navigate the wide web sites of multiples vendors anytime during the day and any day in a week to juxtapose prices and purchase items from the comfort of their home or workplace. In some situations, buyers can instantly buy a product or service like; textbooks, software, video and music file, or electronic cash, by simply download them over the internet.

The increasing rate of unemployment among Nigeria graduates has sprung a cause for concern. Akomolafe and Adegun (2009) posited that, the role of higher education in preparing youth for labour market is becoming more challenging in the modern society. A lot of graduates in Nigeria accept job offers that are unsustainable, they accept these jobs to enable them carter just for their daily bread. This is why they accept wages beneath their skills set and expectations, this is for those who are able to secure job in an established organizations. Idumange (2004) noted that, a lot of higher education graduates get job outside their disciplines which indicated that their jobs had no relationship with their courses of study. A huge number of these graduates are also hoping to secure gainful employment in government and corporate establishment but the positions available are not enough to absorb them.

In finding solution to the above unemployment menace in Nigeria, the private sector is playing a crucial role in curbing this problem. E-commerce is an important aspect of the private sector trying to curbing unemployment. The role of e-commerce in providing entrepreneurship opportunities cannot be over emphasized, its various platforms has provided unemployed young people a channel to sell goods and services with a very low startup capital. This low barrier to entry has encourage a lot of young people who are finding difficulty in securing a paid job to go into entrepreneurship.

Rivers state is an oil producing state with 32 local government areas, located in South-South region of Nigeria. Despite being an oil rich state and its industrial ranking, Rivers state is among the states in the country with the record of highest rate of unemployment among higher institution graduates (Judd-Leonard et al. 2018). “The National Misery Index is now at 3.7% to 55.90, with Rivers State having the highest unemployment rate of 41.8% and a misery index of 79.87” (Brandspurng, 2019). Youths make up the largest pool of unemployed masses in Rivers State. Hashmu (2012) in Nwigbo and Imoh-Ita (2016) regretted that “Rivers State experienced higher crime rate due to large proportion of youths that are not engaged in any meaningful employment.” As a lot of youths who are graduates in Rivers state faces the challenges of unemployment, e-commerce (e-tailing and e-hailing) platforms has become a necessity, where they can leverage on to create their own ventures for self-employment.

Statement of the Problem

E-commerce has revolutionized the way business activities are been conducted especially buying and selling. Causing a shift from the traditional physical store (Brick & Mortar) to a virtual one (Click & Mortar/Click & Click). Alessio, coelise and Vishal (2023) opined that “the creation of online marketplaces such as Amazon and Alibaba have disrupted traditional brick-and-mortar retailers by providing customers with a wider variety of goods and services at lower prices and  more convenience through home delivery”. This disruption brought about by e-commerce has sprung up entrepreneurship partway opportunities for unemployed graduates in Rivers state Nigeria.

Despite the numerous entrepreneurial opportunities provided by e-commerce to unemployed graduates, a lot of unemployed graduates in Rivers state have not been able to leverage on this opportunity as a pathway to becoming entrepreneurs, they are still waiting for white collar jobs which are unavailable, hence, part of the cause why graduate unemployment is still high among graduates in Rivers state Nigeria. According to National Bureau of Statistics (NBC) 2017 third quarter report, Rivers state is sadly ranked as the state with largest unemployment rate with 41.82% rate of unemployment and ranked second highest rate of unemployment in NBC 2020 report at 43.7% an increase of 1.88% from 2017. E-commerce has not been fully embraced in Nigeria due to some major challenges that come with adopting it. There are little or no empirical research on how Nigerians skepticism of using e-commerce can be overcome. Also, there are a lot of literatures on e-commerce and entrepreneur. However, evident from these literatures shows that, no research has been carried out on e-commerce and entrepreneurship pathway in Nigeria, this is a gap that require more indebt research and understanding. In order to address this gap this research intend to explore how e-commerce can be leverage upon to create pathway to entrepreneurship among unemployed graduates in Rivers state Nigeria.

Conceptual Framework on Leveraging E-Commerce and Entrepreneurship Pathway

This study provided a conceptual framework that shows the interplay of the dimensions of leveraging e-commerce and entrepreneurship pathway.

Fig. 1.1: Shows the Conceptual Framework which is based on the relationship between E-commerce and Entrepreneurship Pathway.

Source: Researcher’s Conceptualization, 2024.

Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of the study is to explicitly examine how e-commerce can be leverage on as a pathway to entrepreneurship while the specific objectives are to:

1. Examine the relationship between e-tailing and venture opportunity identification amongst unemployed graduates in Rivers State Nigeria.
2. Ascertain the relationship between e-tailing and new venture lunch amongst unemployed graduates in Rivers State Nigeria.
3. Examine the relationship between e-hailing and venture opportunity identification amongst unemployed graduates in Rivers State Nigeria.
4. Ascertain the relationship between e-hailing and new venture lunch amongst unemployed graduates in Rivers State Nigeria.

Research Questions

1. What influence does e-tailing has on venture opportunity identification amongst unemployed graduates in Rivers State Nigeria?
2. To what extent does e-tailing affects new venture lunch amongst unemployed graduates in Rivers State Nigeria?
3. What influence does e-hailing has on venture opportunity identification amongst unemployed graduates in Rivers State Nigeria?
4. To what extent does e-hailing affects new venture lunch amongst unemployed graduates in Rivers State Nigeria?

Research Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses in the study were tested to ascertain whether or not there is a relationship between the dimensions of the independent variables and measures of the dependent variables.

Ho₁: There is no significant relationship between e-tailing and venture opportunity identification amongst unemployed graduates in Rivers State Nigeria.

Ho₂: There is no significant relationship between e-hailing and new venture lunch amongst unemployed graduates in Rivers State Nigeria.

Ho₃: There is no significant relationship e-tailing and venture opportunity identification amongst unemployed graduates in Rivers State Nigeria.

Ho₄: There is no significant relationship between e-hailing and new venture lunch amongst unemployed graduates in Rivers State Nigeria.

Significance/Implication of the Study

Given the widespread effects of unemployment in Rivers state and the potentials of e-commerce in creating opportunities for venture opportunity identification and new venture creation. The relevance of conducting a study on e-commerce and entrepreneurship pathway can’t be overemphasized. The outcome of this research is expected to inform unemployed graduates in Rivers state of the entrepreneurial opportunities provided by various e-commerce platforms. This study is also relevant to Nigeria ministry of Labour and Employment and Nigeria ministry of Humanitarian Affairs in designing youth empowerment programs and policies. Researchers who wish to conduct research on this area in the future can also make reference to this research work.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Overview of E-Commerce

The concept e-commerce which means electronic commerce is not a new phenomenon, it has grown tremendously in the past decade due to advancement in technology as well as connectivity and consumer behavior. According to Ozuru (2022) “e-commerce is the process of buying, selling, transferring, or exchanging products, services, and/or information through computer networks, including the internet”.  E-commerce is also known as internet commerce. Online platforms like Jumia, Amazon, Konga and Jiji, are some examples of e-commerce platforms. Uber, Bolt and Indrive are types of m-commerce, m-commerce is also an aspect of e-commerce. One of the most crucial decision an e-commerce entrepreneur will have to make is what niche and product to sell. This will determine his target market, branding, marketing strategy, profit margin, and competitive advantage. However, choosing a niche and product there are many factors to consider, such as demand, competition, profitability, uniqueness, and scalability.

There are various forms of e-commerce, some of these are: Business-to-Business (B2B), with B2B2C, a business sells goods or services to another business, but to some extent delivers small quantities to individuals or business customers. Business-to-Customer (B2C), category involves a business conducting retail transactions of products or services with individual customer. Customer-to-Business (C2B) category involves individuals who sell products or services on the internet to buyers, or organizations who invite sellers to bid for their products or services. Customer-to-Customer (C2C) category, here the consumer sells directly to other consumers. Mobile-Commerce (M-Commerce) is the process of whereby customers buy and sell goods and services using wireless technology i.e., mobile devices that are handheld like mobile telephones as well as personal digital assistants (PDAs).

Dimensions of E-commerce

This study explore e-tailing and e-hailing as the dimensions of e-commerce.

E-tailing

E-tailing according to Turban (2006), “is defined as retailing conducted online, over the internet”. Wang (2002) “has provided a broad definition of e-tailing by defining it as the selling of goods and services to the consumer market via the internet”.

E-tailing as a Business-to-Customer (B2C) form of e-commerce expect organizations to customize their business models towards capturing sales on the internet, which can also include designing distribution channels that is simple and efficient, good centers where products can be shipped from and internet websites. Designing distribution channels that are efficient is essential to electronic retailing as these are routes where products are moved to the consumers. Also, prompt and efficient distribution networks are needed by e-tailers because most consumers don’t have the luxury of time and patience for products and services to be delivered to them. Transparent operations is also important, as this will make consumers to trust and remain loyal to the company (Marshall, 2021). E-tailing is classified into three major categories; click, click and brick, brick and mortar.

E-hailing

E-hailing is an intermediation business, ‘E’ refers to ‘electronic’ while ‘hail’ refers to the traditional process of signaling an approaching taxi or cab to stop (Shivangi and Priyanka 2018). E-hailing is also known as the process of ordering a taxi, car or other transportation mode using electronic devices such as computers and mobile phones. E-hailing is also known as mobile commerce (m-commerce) and mobile commerce is a part of e-commerce.

“E-hailing platforms first entered the Nigerian market in 2014, with Uber starting its operations in Lagos” (Meagher, 2018). Bolt (previously called Taxify) entered Lagos Market in the year 2016 and was launched into Port Harcourt market in October, 2021. “Bolt the leading on-demand transportation platform in Africa, has on 30th August launched operations in Port Harcourt” (Vanguard, 2019). ”After successful launches in seven Nigerian cities, expanding to the cosmopolitan city of Port Harcourt is a natural next step for Bolt as it further reinforces our vision to make urban travel easier, quicker and more reliable. We are also looking forward to introducing flexible employment opportunities to thousands of drivers and vehicle owners in the city” (Uche, 2017). Gradually e-hailing operations have extended into various major Nigeria cities since then, tapping into the advantage of Nigeria’s poorly developed public transport system together with its large population and rapid urbanization.

Entrepreneurship Pathway

Entrepreneurship pathway is referred to as a structured process or journey that a person decides to develop and pursue his entrepreneurial ventures. An entrepreneurship pathway focuses in directing individuals through the complexities of starting and running a business, offering support, and education to increase the likelihood of guiding the business to fruition. Entrepreneurship pathway help entrepreneurs to navigate challenges effectively. Entrepreneurship Pathway provides unemployed graduates the opportunity to horn their skills and become successful in establishing their venture. The opportunity to enable them turn their passion into a profitable online business.

Measures of Entrepreneurship Pathway

The researcher explored venture opportunity identification and new venture creation as the measures of entrepreneurship pathway.

Venture Opportunity Identification

New venture opportunities identification is defined as the process of spotting, examining, and choosing viable business ideas or market gaps which have the potential to develop into profitable and successful ventures. This is an essential early stride in an entrepreneurial journey, where an entrepreneur is actively seeking out areas where new products and/or services or innovation can be introduce that can fill the gap in the market. Ardichvilli, Cardozo, and Ray, (2003) opined that identification of opportunity is the first step in a process that is continuous, and is different from both detailed assessment of how feasible and viable these identified opportunities are as well as the deliberate steps taken to develop these opportunities into new ventures. Identifying gaps in the market, clear understanding of customer needs, and creating viable business models is the critical process entrepreneurs takes to start, grow and innovate their business.

New Venture Creation

New venture creation is an integral part of entrepreneurship, it is the process of converting new identified venture idea or technology into a venture with the potentials to succeed and attract investors. It is the process of introducing to the market innovative products and/or services or business model through establishing and developing a business or project. This process involves identifying opportunities through market gaps and customers’ needs which are unmet, developing a clear business plan which will serve as a road map, acquiring the requisite resources needed to execute the business plan, using these resources to execute the plan and ensuring the venture is a going concern.

Theoretical Review

This research was guided by two theories: Technology Acceptance Theory and Necessity vs. Opportunity Based Theory.

Technology Acceptance Theory

This theory was developed by Davis and Warshaw in 1989. The theory explains that whenever a user fells that a particular technology seems to be useful as well as easy to use, such user will always be willing to adopt it. Consequently, “the more employees recognize that the systems will make their tasks easier to perform; the higher is the probability that they will use it and accept the new technology as being useful” (Dillon & Morris, 1996). Ottih (2020) “postulated that Technology Acceptance Theory (TAM) model was based on the theory of reasoned action specifying the causal linkages between two key beliefs: Perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) and users’ attitudes, intentions and actual technology usage behavior”. According to Lin (2007) perceived usefulness is a person’s evaluation of a particular innovation benefitting him, while perceived ease of use is his appreciation of adopting that particular innovation without any complications.

Necessity vs. Opportunity Based Theory

The Necessity vs. Opportunity Based theory was postulated by Peter Ferdinand Drucker and Howard H. Stevenson. According to Drucker (1985) entrepreneurs in the face of turbulence do not change however, they exploit the opportunities caused by this turbulence such as changes in technology, society, culture and consumer preferences. Ottih (2020) opined that Drucker went further to define an entrepreneur as someone who is always in search for change, and respond to this change by exploiting it as an opportunity. Stevenson added resourcefulness to Drucker’s opportunity based constructs. He further says, “Entrepreneurial management is the pursuit of opportunity without regards to resources currently controlled”. Both Drucker and Stevenson posited that, Opportunity entrepreneurs are individuals who decided to quit their lucrative job in pursuit of a viable career as entrepreneurs while Necessity entrepreneurs are individuals who decided to start a business because they were unable to find a decent job or keep one (Ottih, 2020).

Empirical Review

There are many research work on e-commerce and entrepreneurship undertaken by many researchers. For instance, Okolie and Ojomo (2005) conducted an empirical research titled “E-Commerce In Nigeria: Benefits And Challenges”. The objectives were to examine the benefits and the challenges of e-commerce that inhibit its successful operation in Nigeria. The study applied survey method was used in the research. The designed questionnaire was distributed to 1200 respondents who are the sample size. The data generated was tested by SPSS statistical tool. The findings from the results showed that, competitive advantage, increased sales, extended application of novel technology, better knowledge management, customer loyalty, education of customer and enhanced well-being are the benefits of adopting e-commerce in Nigeria. The findings also showed that the limitations of e-commerce spread in Nigeria are; unavailability of skilled IT personnel, incompatibility of software, epileptic power supply, unreliable internet network, lack of trust of retail workers, high technology cost and  insecurity. The researchers also recommend that; there should be intensive awareness on e-banking, e-business and e-shopping.

Shibana (2021) conducted an empirical research titled “Impact of E-Commerce on the Adoption of Entrepreneurship” in relation to women entrepreneurs in Ramanathapuram. The main objectives of this research was to ascertain the relation between e-commerce and the adoption of entrepreneurship. The methodology of this study was description research. 100 respondents make up the study sample size and questionnaires were used for data collection tool. Both primary and secondary data were adopted and analyzed the collected data with Chi-Square statistical tool. The results showed both the challenges and opportunities that are faced by the use of e-commerce and it recommended to small businesses and entrepreneurs how to they can exploit these opportunities posed by e-commerce over the challenges. As this will encourage women entrepreneurs to establish their own e-commerce business.

METHODOLOGY

Exploratory research design was adopted for this study. Young graduates who are within the age range of 18 and 40 years constituted the population of the study. They engaged in e-commerce activities such as e-tailing and e-hailing. Three Local Government Area in Rivers state constitute the geographical scope of this study they are Port-Harcourt LGA, Obio-Akpor LGA and Ikwerre LGA. These local government areas were chosen because they constitute the main metropolis in the state where e-tailing and e-hailing activities are mostly being carried out. 700 formed the viable population of this research. The sample size was determined using Taro Yamani population size determination formula as follows;

Where:

n = Desired Sample Size

N = Total Population Size (700)

e = Level of precision (allowable error) that is 5% or 0.05.

Thus, the sample size estimation is given as:

400

Therefore, the sample size for this study is 400.

A questionnaire well titled “E-commerce and Entrepreneurship Pathway Index (E-EPI)” was framed in a 5 point format of Likert rating scale using the response option as follows: 5 (five) Very High Extent (VHE), 4 (four) High Extent (HE), 3 (three) Moderate Extent (ME), 2 (two) Low Extent (LE), and 1 (one) No Extent (NE). After a well carefully carried out validation and test-retest was done the result produced a reliability coefficient 0.75 using PPMCC.  370 copies of the distributed questionnaire were retrieved, the analysis was run by SPSS Version 20.0. For the Univariate analysis, mean, standard deviation as well as tables were used while for the Bivariate analysis PPMC was adopted.

Test of Hypotheses

Ho₁: There is no significant relationship between e-tailing and venture opportunity identification amongst unemployed graduates in Rivers State Nigeria.

Table 1: E-tailing and Venture Opportunity Identification

N= 370 Pearson Product Moment Correlation	Coefficient	Sig.
	0.86**	0.00
		Gender
	t-score	Sig.	Mean
t-test (2 tailed)	0.72**	0.02
	Female		20.7
	Male		9.28
		Educational Level
Multivariate Analysis	ANOVA 0.675	Sig 0.00
	FLSC	SSCE	First Degree
Mean	1.35	10.2	15.4

Source: SPSS Data Output, 2024.

The above table 1 shows Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.86 with a significant value of 0.00. It also showed that the significant value 0.00 is less than 0.05 alpha level. Thus, from the decision rule, null hypothesis is rejected and alternative hypothesis accepted indicating that there is a strong significant relationship between e-tailing and venture opportunity identification.

Ho₂: There is no significant relationship between e-tailing and new venture creation amongst unemployed graduates in Rivers State Nigeria.

Table 2: E-tailing and New Venture Creation

Pearson Product Moment Correlation	Coefficient	Sig.
	0.82**	0.00
		Gender
	t-score	Sig.	Mean
t-test (2 tailed)	0.64**	0.00
	Female		38.53
	Male		31.17
		Educational Attainment
Multivariate Analysis (ANOVA )		Sig 0.00
Mean	FLSC	SSCE	First Degree
	10.7	14.8	20.3 N= 370

Source: SPSS Data Output, 2024.

The above table 2 show that Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.84 has a significant value of 0.00. Been that the significant value of 0.00 is less than alpha level of 0.05. From the decision rule, the null hypothesis is rejected while the alternative hypothesis accepted. The implication indicates that there is a positive significant relationship between e-tailing and new venture creation amongst Rivers unemployed graduates.

Ho₃: There is no significant relationship e-tailing and venture opportunity identification amongst unemployed graduates youths in Rivers State Nigeria.

Table 3: E-hailing and Venture Opportunity Identification

Pearson Product Moment Correlation	Coefficient	Sig.
	0.82**	0.00
		Gender
	t-score	Sig.	Mean
t-test (2 tailed)	0.66**	0.00
	Female		18.06
	Male		35.42
		Educational Level
Multivariate Analysis (ANOVA )		Sig 0.62
			N= 370

Source: SPSS Data Output, 2024.

The above table 3 indicates that Pearson correlation with a coefficient of 0.82 and with consequent value of 0.00. However, the consequent value 0.00 seem to be lower when compared to 0.05 alpha level, as a result, null hypothesis rejected, and alternative accepted. This shows that there is a positive significant relationship between e-tailing and venture opportunity identification.

Ho₄: There is no significant relationship between e-hailing and new venture creation amongst unemployed graduates youths in Rivers State Nigeria.

Table 4: E-hailing and New Venture Creation

Pearson Product Moment Correlation (2 tailed)	Coefficient	Sig.
	.88**	.00
Gender
t-test (2 tailed)	t-score	Sig.
	0.83**	0.00
	Female	Male
Mean	20.4	28.6
Multivariate Analysis (ANOVA)	Educational Attainment
	Sig.	.72
	N. = 370

Source: SPSS Data Output, 2024.

The table above points out Pearson correlation with a coefficient of 0.88 and with the consequent value of 0.00. However, the consequent value 0.00 seem to be lower when compared to 0.05 alpha level, as a result, the null hypothesis rejected, and alternative accepted. This shows that there is a positive significant relationship between relationship between e-hailing and new venture creation among unemployed graduates in Rivers state Nigeria.

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

Association Between E-tailing and Venture Opportunity Identification

There is a strong positive relationship between e-tailing and venture opportunities identification (Pearson correlation computed that the coefficient of 0.86 a significant value of 0.00 is lesser than 0.05 alpha level). This result emanate from the fact that unemployed graduates in Rivers state Nigeria are able to identify new ventures by spotting market gaps and unmet consumers’ needs through examining the catalogs of various e-tailing (Jumia, Konga, Jiji,) platforms to identify products and services not been advertised. The works of Doherty & Ellis-Chadwick (2010) is in support of the above assertion, they opined that consumers have responded enthusiastically to e-commerce, and online retail sales have grown significantly over the past 15 years and are predicted to continue rising into the future. This show that there are numerous venture opportunities offered by e-tailing.

Association Between E-tailing and New Venture Creation

The findings agrees that there is a significant positive relationship between e-tailing and new venture creation (Pearson correlation computed that the coefficient of 0.84 a significant value of 0.00 is lesser than 0.05 alpha level). Through servicing existing market gap and unmet consumer’s needs by selling these products and services through available e-tailing platforms. With this unemployed graduates in Rivers state Nigeria have been able to create new ventures and also becoming self-employed. Ernst and Young (2012) explain that the e-tailing industry is expanding rapidly with strong early life cycle growth.

Association Between E-hailing and Venture Opportunity Identification

There is a positive significant relationship between e-hailing and venture opportunity identification (Pearson correlation computed that the coefficient of 0.82 a significant value of 0.00 is lesser than 0.05 alpha level). E-hailing in Rivers state has witness a consistent growth in demand which may be associated to its cost efficiency, this increasing demand has offered venture opportunities for a lot of graduates in Rivers state who are unemployed.  Port Harcourt, Obio-Akpo and Ikwerre LGA are urban cities that are fast developing with good mobile network coverage however, there still exist epileptic transport system which is creating profitable venture opportunities for those using e-hailing platforms.

Association Between E-hailing and New Venture Creation

The findings also showed that, there is a strong significant relationship between e-hailing and new venture creation (Pearson correlation computed that the coefficient of 0.88 a significant value of 0.00 is lesser than 0.05 alpha level). E-hailing sector has grown to be an important pathway to new venture creation for a lot of unemployed graduates in Rivers state. Rivers state graduates use e-hailing as a way of establishing new ventures by signing up as a driver or leveraging their personal car or hired vehicle to earn constant income on a flexible schedule. E-hailing has been of immerse benefit to young individuals seeking for a pathway to entrepreneurship and as a means of leaving unemployment (Chernay. J., Matthew. D., & Hannah. S, 2020). Philip (2020) also state that by using their intellectual advantage some of these graduates have been able to explore other value chains of e-hailing such as delivery, logistics and running errands for clients. Philip (2020) went further to state that drivers of Bolt and Uber Technologies, Inc. have called on unemployed youths in the country to take advantage of the employment opportunity offered by the ride-hailing apps instead of queuing up in the job markets.

CONCLUSION

Going by the above analysis of the data and discussion of the findings, the study concluded that leveraging on e-commerce such as e-tailing and e-hailing creates pathway into entrepreneurship through venture opportunity identification and new venture creation among unemployed graduates in Rivers state.

RECOMMENDATIONS

In relation to the above arrived results in conjuncture with the conclusions reached, the following study recommendations were drawn:

1. Levels of government such as Federal and State government should endeavor to establish youth development training centers that will train unemployed graduates on ICT and Entrepreneurial skills to enable them leveraging on e-commerce to solve unemployment.
2. Non-governmental agencies involve in youth empowerment should include self-reliance graduate digital skill acquisition to their programs to enable unemployed graduates leverage on e-tailing and e-hailing pathway to new venture creation.
3. Tertiary Institution should include digital skills acquisition to enable graduate poses the required digital skills for new venture creation
4. Unemployed graduates in Rivers state should avoid wasting time waiting for corporate jobs instead they need to think of becoming an entrepreneur by leveraging on e-commerce ventures opportunities through e-tailing and e-hailing.
5. It is also essential for Nigeria youths who are not graduates to acquire the required digital skills to enable them take advantages of the ventures opportunities offered by e-commerce.

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