University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA 
THE EFFECT OF ACCESS TO CREDIT ON STUDENTS’ ENTREPRENEURIAL 
INTENTIONS; A CASE STUDY OF VALLEY VIEW UNIVERSITY, OYIBI 
 
 
BY:  
FREDERICK KWAME ODETSI  
  (10026871) 
 
THIS LONG ESSAY PRESENTED IS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA 
LEGON IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF 
THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ACCOUNTING   AND FINANCE    
 
 
August, 2019 
 
  
  
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
DECLARATION 
I, the undersigned hereby declare that this long essay is the result of my own original work 
towards the degree of Master of Science in Accounting and Finance and that no part of it to the 
best of my knowledge has been presented for another degree in this university or elsewhere 
except where acknowledgement has been made in the text. 
 
 
 
 ………………………………………………                  ………………………                     
FREDERICK KWAME ODETSI      DATE  
             (10026871) 
 
                      
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
i  
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
CERTIFICATION 
I hereby certify that this long essay was supervised in accordance with the procedures laid down 
by the University.  
 
 
 
…………………………………………….    ……………………………  
PROFESSOR GODFRED ALUFAR BOKPIN         DATE  
(SUPERVISOR) 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ii  
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
DEDICATION 
 I wish to dedicate this project to God Almighty for making it a success. I also dedicate this work 
to my family especially my parents who gave me the needed backing to climb this level of the 
academic ladder. The study is also dedicated to my supervisor, Prof. Godfred A. Bokpin.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ii i 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 
This project would not have been successful without the support and assistance of many 
individuals whose encouragement and support in diverse ways brought my goal of climbing 
higher on the academic ladder to fruition. I would therefore like to express my heartfelt gratitude 
to my supervisor, Prof Godfred A. Bokpin, who sacrificed his time and expertise to guide me 
through this project. I appreciate the cooperation of the staff and management of Valley View 
University. I also appreciate the support of the executive members of SRC of VVU. I am 
thankful to my colleagues whose assistance in diverse ways enables me to complete this project.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
iv  
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
DECLARATION.............................................................................................................................   
CERTIFICATION ........................................................................................................................ ii 
DEDICATION.............................................................................................................................. iii 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ........................................................................................................... iv 
LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... ix 
LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ x 
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. xi 
CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION ........................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
1.1 Background of the Study ...................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
1.2 Statement of Problem ........................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
1.3 Objectives of the Study ........................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. 
1.4 Research Questions .............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 
1.5 Scope of the Study................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. 
1.6 Significance of the Study ..................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
1.7 Limitations of the Study ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
1.8 Definition of Terms .............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 
1.9 Organization of the Study .................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
CHAPTER TWO - LITERATURE REVIEW .............................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 
2.1 Theoretical Literature ........................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
2.1.1 Sociological Theory of Entrepreneurship ...................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
2.1.2 Discovery and Opportunity Theory ............................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
v  
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
2.1.3 The Traits Theory by McClelland (1961)...................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
2.1.4 The Credit Rationing Theory and Access to Finance .... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
2.1.5 Credit Channel Theory .................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 
2.1.6 The Concept of Entrepreneurship .................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 
2.1.7 Students’ Entrepreneurship ............................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. 
2.1.8 Personality Traits of Entrepreneurs ............................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
2.2 Empirical literature ............................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
2.2.1 Students’ Perception about Entrepreneurship ................ Error! Bookmark not defined. 
2.2.2 The effect of Access to Credit on Graduate Entrepreneurship .... Error! Bookmark not 
defined. 
2.2.3 Factors that influence Graduate Entrepreneurship ........ Error! Bookmark not defined. 
2.2.4 Factors that Hinder Entrepreneurship ............................ Error! Bookmark not defined. 
2.2.5 Factors that Enhance Entrepreneurship ......................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
2.2.6 Entrepreneurship Education .......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
CHAPTER THREE - METHODOLOGY..................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
3.1 Introduction .......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
3.2 Research Design ................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
3.3 Sources of Data .................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
3.4 Population............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 
3.5 Sampling Procedure ............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 
3.6 Sample Size .......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
3.7 Data Collection Instrument .................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 
3.8 Data Analysis ....................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
v i 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
3.9 Ethical Considerations.......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
CHAPTER FOUR - ANALYSIS OF DATA AND DISCUSSION ............ Error! Bookmark not 
defined. 
4.1 Introduction .......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
4.1.1 Demographic Analysis .................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 
4.1.2 Age of respondents ........................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. 
4.1.3 Gender ........................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
4.1.4 Programs offered by the respondents ............................ Error! Bookmark not defined. 
4.2 Presentation of Data ............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 
4.2.1 Effect of Access to Credit on Students’ Entrepreneurial Intention .... Error! Bookmark 
not defined. 
4.2.2 Inferential Statistics ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
4.2.3 Students’ Choice of Employment .................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 
4.2.4 Descriptive statistics on the Perception of students on Entrepreneurship ............. Error! 
Bookmark not defined. 
4.2.5 Descriptive statistics on Barriers to Student Entrepreneurship ... Error! Bookmark not 
defined. 
4.3 Discussion of the Result ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
4.3.1 Objective one: The effect of Access to Credit on students’ Entrepreneurship at the 
Valley View University, Oyibi. .............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 
4.3.2 Objective two:  The various perceptions students have about Entrepreneurship at the 
Valley View University, Oyibi. .............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 
vi i 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
4.3.3 Objective three: Factors that hinder Students’ Entrepreneurship at Valley View 
University, Oyibi. ................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
CHAPTER FIVE - SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND 
RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 
5.1 Introduction .......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
5.2 Summary of Findings ........................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
5.2.1 Objective One ................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. 
5.2.2 Objective Two ............................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
5.2.3 Objective Three ............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 
5.3 The Conclusion of the Study ................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. 
5.4 Recommendations ................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. 
5.5 Suggestions for Further Studies ........................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 
REFERENCE .............................................................................................................................. 65 
APPENDIX .................................................................................................................................. 74 
 
 
 
vi ii 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
 
LIST OF FIGURES 
Figure 1:  Age of Respondents ..................................................................................................... 38 
Figure 2: Gender of Respondents ................................................................................................. 39 
Figure 3: Programs offered by the respondents: ........................................................................... 40 
Figure 4:  Students’ Choice of Employment ................................................................................ 47 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ix  
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
LIST OF TABLES 
Table 1: Student’s Access to Credit .............................................................................................. 41 
Table 2: Model Summary ............................................................................................................. 44 
Table 3: ANOVAa ......................................................................................................................... 45 
Table 4: Coefficientsa ................................................................................................................... 45 
Table 5: Students Perceptions about Entrepreneurship ................................................................ 48 
Table 6: Barriers to Students’ Entrepreneurship ........................................................................... 51 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
x  
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
ABSTRACT 
The critical role entrepreneurship play in economies made it necessary for the study to be 
done to examine critical factors that affect students’ Entrepreneurial Intentions. The 
heightened rate of unemployment in Ghana coupled with the Ghanaian youths’ 
overreliance on the state for employment made the conduct of this study critical and 
timely, as it sought to assess the effect of access to credit on students’ entrepreneurial 
intentions at the Valley View University, Oyibi. 
 
The convenience sampling technique was used to select 150 students of VVU. The 
quantitative methodology was used for study. A self-designed questionnaire which 
consists of close- ended questions was used to collect data from VVU. After a cross-
section data was gathered, the data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social 
Sciences (SPSS).The regression analysis that was conducted found a positive relationship 
(R2 = 0.11) between access to credit and entrepreneurial intentions of students of VVU.  
The study also found that students have negative perceptions about entrepreneurship, as 
most of them perceived entrepreneurship to be a risky venture; the field is meant for only 
student who are talented entrepreneurs; and the field is meant for students who are from 
rich homes. The entrepreneurship education in universities was also found to be non-
practical. It is therefore recommended that the state should consider creating equity fund 
to supporting the financing of entrepreneurship. 
It was also recommended that students should be reoriented about the benefits of 
entrepreneurship. 
x i 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
 
CHAPTER ONE 
INTRODUCTION 
1.1 Background of the Study  
According to Holt (2003), entrepreneurship is a risk bearing activity which involves the 
combination of factors of production like land (natural resources); labor (human resource) and 
capital to produce goods and services to satisfy needs. Schumpeter (1934) also saw 
entrepreneurship as an enterprise of creativity where an individual entrepreneur formulates his 
own business pattern of ideas or models to solve problems. Unlike the earlier authors, 
Schumpeter situated his definition on not just the identification of needs but also the use of one’s 
ingenuity to introduce a new paradigm of problem-solving which otherwise did not exist. He 
describes this process of dismantling the already existing pattern and creating a new structure as 
“creative destruction”.  
Kayode et al., (2014) saw risk bearing; investment of one’s effort and resources; creation of 
something of value; and profitability as the core elements of entrepreneurship. Considering all 
the diverse definitions by the different authors, it is clear that all the definitions seem to have 
some key resemblance, thus; risk bearing, creativity and problem-solving.  
The importance of entrepreneurship to individuals and economies is not in any way in dispute, as 
it is seen as a medium from which useful and economic application of land, man power as well 
as capital spring. It therefore prevents resource dormancy and idleness (Holt, 2003). In this era of 
upsurge graduate unemployment in Ghana and other developing nations, entrepreneurship has 
1 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
become a necessity. Several thousands of students graduate from the various tertiary institutions 
in Ghana. One would have expected that with the passing out of these youngsters who have 
obtain knowledge from different fields of academic discipline, these young graduates could 
apply the knowledge they have obtain to transform their societies by identifying and solving 
pressing problems but the contrary is true in the case of Ghana and many other developing 
nations. The main question that remains unanswered is, “why do graduates after acquiring skills 
end up as burden to society”  Ghanaian youth, especially graduates seems to have an insatiable 
urge to work for others rather than for themselves, this phenomenon predates back to the 
country’s colonial days (Kayode et al., (2014).  
The seeming lack of youth interest in entrepreneurship has heightened the country’s 
unemployment rate to an astronomical level. Those who have passion for entrepreneurship have 
had their dream shattered because of the difficulties that comes with raising funds to support 
their dream (Olowe et al., 2013).  
Mokua (2013) postulates that accessing loan from the commercial banks is expensive and 
inconvenient for graduates. The incident of unemployment has become a national security threat, 
as the unemployed engage in several nefarious acts in their desperate quest to seek survival. 
Several attempts by successive government (both past and present) in the past two decades to 
deal with the problem have proven futile, as the rate at which graduates are being poured into the 
system far outweigh the employment opportunities that exist to absorb them. The 6th February, 
2018 edition of myjoyonline .com stated that only 10% of graduates who enter the job market 
every year are able to secure jobs. A study by Ghana Statistical Service in the year 2017 also 
found that about 4.9% of Ghanaians were unemployed. 
2 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
Without any doubt, entrepreneurship hold the magic wand to dealing with the problem of 
unemployment in Ghana, yet it is obvious that many students at the tertiary level as well as 
graduates are not involved in entrepreneurship. The current study seeks to examine the various 
factors that affect youth ability to engage in entrepreneurship by laying emphasis on access to 
credit.  
1.2 Statement of Problem  
The critical nature of entrepreneurship in this era of increased unemployment has attracted the 
interest of the academia on the issues of self-employment. There are manifold of researches that 
have sought to examine the factors that influence youth willingness to pursue entrepreneurship.  
Hisrich and Shepherd (2008) postulate that graduates perception about self-employment has the 
propensity to affect not only the supply side but also the demand side of entrepreneurship. The 
study was however limited in scope as it examined only the perception graduates have about 
entrepreneurship at the neglect of other variables.  
Yarima (2014) also considered the impact of commercial banks on the establishment and growth 
of SME’s.  Further studies by Kuratko (2005) perceives the decision by many tertiary institutions 
in the United States of America, Europe, East Asia and Latin America to design and implement 
significant entrepreneurship teaching programmes as a step in the right direction. Although 
almost all degree and diploma-awarding tertiary institutions have in recent time included 
entrepreneurship in their curriculum, significant majority of students fail to engage in 
entrepreneurship whiles they are in school (Basardien et. al, 2016). This situation has made job 
creation a major challenge of successive government.  
3 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
Though some studies from Ghana have investigated the effect of access to credit and graduates’ 
entrepreneurship intentions, they have all been narrowed to graduates and tend to neglect 
students. Studies have shown that 90% of students who enter the job market every year are 
unable to secure jobs (myjoyonline.com, 2018). This has resulted to the increase in the rate of 
graduates’ unemployment to 4.9% (GSS, 2017). There is no single study that has focused on 
students’ entrepreneurship in Ghana, but the fact cannot be denied that in order to Ghana to win 
the fight against unemployment, a stronger emphasis must be laid on student entrepreneurship, as 
it will prepare students even before they enter the “world of work” (Turker & Selcuk, 2009). 
This makes it imperative for the entrepreneurial intentions of students to be examined.  Unlike 
the earlier studies which were narrow in scope, this study will also consider a wide array of 
factors affecting self-employment, thus the perceptions graduates have about entrepreneurship, 
graduates interest in entrepreneurship and ultimately the effects of access to credits on graduates’ 
entrepreneurship.  
1.3 Objectives of the Study 
The objective of this study is to critically examine how accesses to credit affect students’ 
entrepreneurship in Ghana.      
The specific objectives are to: 
1. The effect of access to credit on students’ entrepreneurship at the Valley View 
University, Oyibi.  
2. Examine the various perceptions students have about entrepreneurship at the Valley View 
University, Oyibi.  
3. Examine the factors that hinder students’ entrepreneurship at Valley View University, 
Oyibi. 
4 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
1.4 Research Questions 
1. What is the effect of access to credit on students’ entrepreneurship at the Valley View 
University, Oyibi? 
2. What are the various perceptions students have about entrepreneurship at the Valley View   
University, Oyibi?  
3. What are the factors that hinder students’ entrepreneurship at the Valley View University, 
Oyibi? 
      
1.5 Scope of the Study 
 This study is into the effect of access to credit on Students’ Entrepreneurial Intentions with 
specific emphasis on the Valley View University, Oyibi. 
1.6 Significance of the Study 
The importance of this study stems from the fact that a significant majority of student in Ghana 
become jobless soon after completing school. This study can be justified also on the grounds that 
its outcome will set the pace for revolutionizing the economy of Ghana through an increased 
youth self-employment. The study will also bring to bear the various inhibitions of 
entrepreneurship in Ghana. The outcome of this study will also add on to the existing literature 
on entrepreneurship by situating it within the context of developing economies like Ghana. The 
outcome will also be useful to policy maker with regard to battling unemployment. Universities 
and other academic institution will also find the outcome of this study useful, as it will guide 
them in their design of curricular that respond to the issue of unemployment which is invariably 
the most pressing challenge of economies across Africa.    
5 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
1.7 Limitations of the Study 
Although there are many private and public universities in Ghana, due to lack of resource and 
time constraint, the study was limited to only Valley View University, Oyibi.  
1.8 Definition of Terms  
 Entrepreneurship: it is activity which involves that the productive use of factors of production   
to solve societal problem for gains.   
Unemployment: is the situation whereby active, willing and productive human resources are left 
idle. 
1.9 Organization of the Study 
This study has been divided into five main chapters as follows:  
Chapter one is the Introduction. This deals with the Background of the Study, Statement of the 
Problem, Objective of the Study, Research Questions, and Significance of the Study, Scope and 
Limitation of the Study, Definition of Terms and Organization of the Study.  
Chapter two is the Literature Review. 
 Chapter three is Methodology. It entails the Type of Research, Population, Sampling and 
Technique, Data Collection and Method of Data Analysis. 
 Chapter four is the Results and Discussion of Findings. This highlights General Information on 
Sampled Firms, Data Presentation and Analysis, and Discussion of Research Findings. 
 Chapter five is the Summary of Findings, Conclusion and Recommendations of the Study. 
 
6 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
CHAPTER TWO 
LITERATURE REVIEW 
2.1 Theoretical Literature  
In the field of entrepreneurship, countless theories have attempted to assign explanations to the 
factors behind individual’s decision to engage in entrepreneurship. The study will review the 
Discovery and opportunity theory of Entrepreneurship (equilibrium destruction theory) by 
Schumpeter (1934); Sociological Theory by (Weber, 1920) and the Traits Theory by 
(McClelland, 1961). In order to understand the factor that affect the supply side of credit to 
entrepreneurs and the flow of credit from financial intermediaries, the study reviewed the Credit 
Rationing Theory and Access to Finance  by  Stiglitz and Weiss (1981) and Credit Channel 
Theory by Diagne and Zeller (2003). 
 
2.1.1 Sociological Theory of Entrepreneurship  
The sociological theory of entrepreneurship which was promulgated by (Weber, 1920) considers 
socio- cultural factors as the main driving force behind people’s willingness to start a business. 
In the view of the researcher, the founder of a business becomes a role-performer who acts in 
line with what the larger society expects. According to the proponent of the theory, the 
entrepreneurial decisions are founded on religious and customary considerations.  The theory 
anchored on capitalism which revolves around free enterprise economic management. Weber 
stated that, “Capitalism thrives under the protestant work ethic that harps on these values. The 
right blend of discipline and an adventurous free-spirit defines the successful entrepreneur”. 
 
7 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
2.1.2 Discovery and Opportunity Theory 
According to Schumpeter, entrepreneurship should not be seen as imitating other people’s ideas 
but rather unleashing one’s innovation, creativity and ingenuity to create value to support 
societal development through the delivery of goods and services.  In the view of the Schumpeter, 
entrepreneurs are economic and social leaders whose ultimate interest is in the joy of serving 
their society with less interest in the accompanying financial reward.  
Marire et.al (2017), states that "Schumpeter hardly denied the fact that the process of 
accumulation is the ladder to social power and social prestige; but he thought the very 
mainspring of the exercise of the entrepreneurial role is the powerful will to assert economic 
leadership.”  
The pleasure of carrying through novelties is the primary motive, the gaining of social power is a 
subordinate to it. The entrepreneur is not essentially the one who invents new combinations but 
the one who identifies how the new groupings can be applied in production. This line of thinking 
implies that a business owner is considered an entrepreneur only if he is carrying out new 
combinations of ideas. 
2.1.3 The Traits Theory by McClelland (1961)    
According to the researcher, McClelland (1961), there are some inherent qualities which 
entrepreneurs are born with. Innovation, restlessness, personal control, self-confidence and desire 
for independence were mentioned by McClelland as some core and unique qualities of an 
entrepreneur.  
The traits theory, just like other theories has received criticisms however the fact that it 
exemplifies the various behavioral dispositions that promote entrepreneurship cannot be denied.  
8 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
According to Shapiro and Sokol (1982), the urge to engage in entrepreneurship comes when an 
individual goes through entrepreneurial event. The change in individuals’ perception of the 
environment is influenced by such entrepreneurial events (Maalu & Magutu, 2010). 
2.1.4 The Credit Rationing Theory and Access to Finance 
The credit rationing theory, propounded by Stiglitz and Weiss (1981), offer a 
framework for examining financial market inadequacies. It declares that as far as developing 
countries are concerned, information asymmetry is the key source of financial market 
malfunction.  
 
Interest on loans is not the only factor that commercial banks consider when lending to economic 
agents but also the risks of such loans. The authors further held that the interest on loans have the 
likelihood to affect the risks of a pool of financial institutions. The eventual outcome of these 
two key problems are that banks have the choice to various screening means to detect possible 
borrowers who are more likely to pay back their loans; since the likely return on such loans is 
contingent on the likelihood of payment.  
 
One of the approaches of examining recommended by Stiglitz and Weiss is the interest rate that a 
person is prepared to pay. This is for the reason that, given the well-organized financial markets 
hypothesis, borrowers who are ready to pay high interest rate may on the average fail to pay the 
loans collected and the banks are not encouraged to provide loans to such borrowers (Diagne, &  
Zeller, 2001). 
 
 
9 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
2.1.5 Credit Channel Theory 
Diagne and Zeller (2003) pointed out that the recently progressive “credit channel view” 
denotes that real economic performance and supply of credit by financial intermediaries is 
greatly affected by monetary policy shocks. In turn, they stated, the literature makes a clear 
dissimilarity between a “bank lending channel” which relates to only commercial banks and is 
linked to the dual roles they play in the economy which is holders of depositors’ funds and 
generators of loans to businesses and a “broad credit channel” which treats the supply of external 
funds to firms by all financial intermediaries.  
The credit channel similarly shares the view that there is an existence of market deficiencies, in 
specifically with regards to information lopsidedness between borrowers and lenders which 
result to this monitoring cost premium (Oluwatomipe et al., 2015). 
2.1.6 The Concept of Entrepreneurship  
The etymology of the word entrepreneur comes from a French word “entreprende”, which 
translate into English as “to undertake” or “to attempt” (Carland & Hoy, 2002). The first theory 
of entrepreneurship is said to have been developed by Richard Cantillion in 1755. Cantillion saw 
an entrepreneur as an individual who engages in a business venture in the midst of uncertainties 
(Abualbasal et al., 2019). Subsequently, other definitions and meanings have been assigned to 
the term “entrepreneur”, where the central variation between the various definitions depends on 
their opinion of risk taking and the responsibilities associated with risk. 
The issue of risk bearing is known to be the key difference between the manager and the 
entrepreneur, thus whiles an entrepreneur is a risk taker, and the managers’ job is risk-free 
(Bates, 2013). This is what characterized the field of entrepreneurship into three main 
subdivisions; such as the German division, the neoclassical division and the Austrian division. 
10 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
The German division do not perceive the entrepreneur as risk bearer but as responsible for 
exploiting business opportunities, hence not the holder of risk. The neoclassical division sees the 
entrepreneur as people who both explores and exploit business opportunities, and also the risk 
taker. The final division, which is the Austrian branch, perceives the entrepreneur as an 
individual who is focused on manipulating business opportunities, which makes the entrepreneur 
the risk taker (Burritt & Schaltegger, 2014).  
Shane and Venkataraman (2000) term the activity of entrepreneurship with exploring a gainful 
business prospect, then to have the understanding and the motivation to exploit it, and then the 
needs to be a leeway to exploit it. They simplified that process as an entrepreneur plus (prospect) 
opportunity equals entrepreneurship. There is a link between this and the neoclassical view of the 
entrepreneur, which consider both the conception of entrepreneurial ideas and the exploitation of 
opportunity. Others define entrepreneur as one who put together and manages a business and 
assumes the risk for the sake of making profit (Marire et al., 2017)).  
Entrepreneurship is most often linked with novelty and high growth businesses but it is equally 
important to clarify that entrepreneurship also include startups (Burritt & Schaltegger, 2014). 
Schumpeter (1934) does not consider the entrepreneur as a risk bearer, he saw capitalists to be 
those responsible for taking risk. The neoclassical approach views the entrepreneur as the one 
who both explore and takes advantage of a business opportunity and is hence the carrier of risk 
(Yarima, 2014).  Notwithstanding the lengthy history of entrepreneurship, scholars have been 
unsuccessful to agree on a sole description of who an entrepreneur is, and what entrepreneurship 
is (Gideon, 2010). 
11 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
Some scholars are of the view that entrepreneur are born with the innate ability to explore 
opportunities within their environment and make gains out of them whiles other scholars hold a 
contrary view.   The question on whether entrepreneurs are born or made is an ongoing debate, 
which has attracted divergent opinions from researchers (Matthews & Jenkins, 2011).   
Schumpeter (1934) saw entrepreneur as an exceptional person, who is born with outstanding 
qualities. This view has been reinforced by countless scientific literature that considers the 
entrepreneur as a person with desirable personality traits and ability to bear risk (Burritt & 
Schaltegger, 2014). The other side of the argument clings to the idea that everyone capable of 
becoming an entrepreneur (Lange & Bygrave, 2011). Muhammed Yunus, Nobel’s laureate said, 
“All human beings are born entrepreneurs. Some get a chance to unleash that capacity. Some 
never got the chance, never knew that he or she has that capacity”. This statement gives impetus 
to the fact that none of us lack the ability of becoming an entrepreneur but the fact cannot be 
denied that not everyone in our society gets to reveal his talent (Yunus, 2013).  
2.1.7 Students’ Entrepreneurship 
The approach of students towards entrepreneurship has been studied in different countries, each 
study considered a number of variables and how those variables affect the attitude of students 
towards entrepreneurship. In the United Arab Emirate, Majumdar and Varadarajan (2013) 
conducted a study on the consequence of gender on the entrepreneurial intention among students, 
what triggered the need for the study was the gap that existed between female students’ in higher 
academic results compared to their low employment rate. Their research revealed that gender had 
negative relationship with entrepreneurial intention but it was found that there are numerous 
factors, which affect entrepreneurial intention. One of the key factors that was found to impact 
students’ attitude regarding entrepreneurship was awareness.  On the other hand, a study which 
12 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
was similarly conducted to examine the effect of gender on students’ entrepreneurial which 
sampled 3,420 university students in over ten countries concluded that gender has a significant 
positive effect on students’ attitude towards entrepreneurship. The study further found that 
female students are less eager to begin their own businesses as compared to their male 
counterparts (Burritt & Schaltegger, 2014).  
According to Oluwatomipe et al., (2015) a friendly university environment that offer the needed 
information and motivation for entrepreneurship is one of the most important  factors that 
influence  students’ entrepreneurial intention resulting in an upsurge in selecting an 
entrepreneurial career among the youth. Furthermore, educational support was found to have a 
major effect on entrepreneurial intentions than mechanical support, which stresses the essence of 
entrepreneurship education in improvement of entrepreneurial undertakings in the economy. 
 A research which was done by Anabela et al., (2013) on the factors that influence 
entrepreneurial intentions examined factors like tolerance to uncertainty, locus of control, need 
for accomplishment and innovativeness. The study found that these variables are not linked with 
intentions of students to start their own businesses. Similarly a study by Sesen (2013) showed 
that there was a strong connection between access to business information, university’s 
supportive environment and students’ need for achievement from one side and the 
entrepreneurial intention from the other side is not substantial. The outcome of further research 
on the subject entrepreneurial intention of students has shown that a number of factors like 
personal, family and peer influences could influence students’ entrepreneurial ambitions of 
business school graduates (Burritt & Schaltegger, 2014).  
13 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
Also, financial security was also established to be a significant variable that influence students’ 
entrepreneurial intentions; Hattab (2015) concluded that students are in most cases discouraged 
by a fear of financial uncertainty. In contrast, under developed countries were found to have 
positive factor affecting students’ entrepreneurial intention (Oluwatomipe et al., 2015).  
2.1.8 Personality Traits of Entrepreneurs  
Entrepreneurs’ personality traits have been proven by Bates (2013) to have great influence on a 
person urge to establish a business and his ability to excel.  
 Need for Achievement:  In the early of 1961s, McClelland introduced achievement motivation 
into entrepreneurship literature. He claimed that high desire for achievement can be categorized 
by a desire to do something well in order to achieve a feeling of accomplishment. Later in the 
late of 1987s, McClelland demonstrated that “need for achievement” is one of the powerful 
personality traits of successful entrepreneurs. This was also supported by Barkham (1994), 
whose studies found that the need for achievement in individual’s characteristics was crucial to 
become a successful entrepreneur. According to Chatterjee and Dass (2015), the need for 
achievement culminates into high ambition and self-motivation, which is necessary for an 
entrepreneur to recognize larger goals even against many other odds. 
 Locus of Control: In late 1966s, Rotter defined theories of control that emphasize on the 
individuals’ perception towards the result of an event as being within or outside his or her control 
and understanding (Lawan et al., 2015). According to Mueller and Thomas (2001), individuals 
with internal locus of control are those who notice that the outcome of events is within their 
control; they highly trust in themselves to be in control of their fate. On the other hand, 
14 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
individual with external locus of control always believe that events are outside their control and 
suppose they are under the control of people around.  
 Propensity for Risk Taking: Risk-taking inclination has an person’s ability to boldly venture into 
enterprise without any fear of failure (Chatterjee & Dass, 2015). Risk taking ability is always 
considered to have great bearings on entrepreneurial orientation, as entrepreneurs may not 
necessary know the full outcome of their investment decisions. For instance it takes boldness to 
borrow money from a bank and use it to start a business when one is not sure of his ability to 
succeed and repay the loan. According to Kumar and Sihad (2012), risk taker characteristics help 
an entrepreneur to become more effective when facing business challenges. Innumerable 
literatures on entrepreneurship underscore the significance of risk-taking attitude in 
entrepreneurships. 
 Desire for Independence: Successful entrepreneurs portray self-determination and 
independence, as innovators who voiced out their ingenuity and explored their ideas without the 
endorsement of others; in consequence they usually refuse to accept the status quo (Sirec & 
Mocnik, 2000). In the late 1977s, Kets de Vreis proved that autonomy or independent behavior is 
one of the requirements of entrepreneurial success. This is because the need for autonomy is 
critical to the venture commencement process which is associated with a firm decision making 
(Chatterjee & Dass, 2015). According to Bates (2013), the need for autonomy is a characteristic 
that makes one feel free from been influenced by authority and the control of others regardless of 
commanding structures, personal dependency and or procedural constraint.  
Self-Esteem: According to Lawan et al., (2015), self-esteem often reveal individual’s character 
towards how much they will subject themselves to any probable personal or financial loss or 
15 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
damage when confronted with any uncertainty. Self-esteem has become one of the key qualities 
of entrepreneurs (Marire et al., 2017).   
Passion: Hattab (2015) found passion as one of the most practical traits of an entrepreneur. The 
author held that in order for one to succeed in his chosen field of endeavor; there is the need for 
the person to be passionate about that activity.   
Proactivity:  According to Crant (2000), proactive personality can be describes as a behavioral 
tendency to identify opportunity to take action that influence environmental change. An 
entrepreneur with proactivity behavior always scan for opportunities, show strong ingenuity in 
taking action, and persevere until they achieve their target by bringing the changes.  
Tenacity: A person with high tenacity is the one who is able to sustain goal-directed action and 
toughness when faced with sudden difficulties (Lawan et al., 2015). This trait also describes 
ability and the willingness of the entrepreneurs to confront daunting barriers when entering the 
market.   
Self-Efficacy:  According to Bates (2013), self-efficacy refers to an individual’s decision with 
respect to their ability in implementation. In late 1997s, Bandura posits that self-efficacy is a trait 
that enables an individual to have strong trust in his or her own capability to attain a set goal by 
employing the right skills, resources, and expertise. Consequently, Chatterjee and Dass (2015) 
concluded that individual with advanced level of self-efficacy will be able to accept negative 
feedback in a more positive manner and absorb the response as one of the orientation to enhance 
their performance and efficiency. Therefore they are more self-responsible in decision making 
and when changes are needed (Kumar & Sihadg, 2012). 
16 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
 Tolerance to Ambiguity: Tolerance to ambiguity is one of the fundamental entrepreneurial traits, 
and it is assumed that an entrepreneur is more broadminded to vagueness in any condition 
compare with non-entrepreneurs. This view was supported by Abualbasal (2019) who suggested 
that entrepreneurial success is always linked with the readiness to bear instability.  
Innovativeness: In the early 90s, Schumpeter stated that an entrepreneur should be an innovator. 
This view was also reinforced by Oluwatomipe et al., (2015) who held that novelty is a foremost 
tool for entrepreneurs to exploit ideas in generating new business opportunities. Mueller and 
Thomas (2000) also stated that novelty is one of the primary themes in putting business ideas to 
become a business venture. Innovation has therefore become a personality trait that allows 
entrepreneur to add new wealth-yielding capacity into resources (Marire et al., 2017).  
Optimism: According to Oluwatomipe et al., (2015), successful entrepreneurs is the one who 
always execute and act by a distinct set of cognitive thinking process and responds accordingly 
due to the optimistic characteristics that believes things will get well . Further studies from 
literature that focus on entrepreneur characteristics show that successful entrepreneur often make 
decisions and judgment based on their positive outlook (Bates, 2013).   
Openness to Experience:  Sincerity to experience is a personality that includes traits like active 
imagination, intellectual curiosity, and independent judgment (Smith, 2013). Zhao (2010) found 
that openness to experience can greatly impact the entrepreneurial intensions and business 
performance.  
Agreeableness: According to Marire et al., (2017), agreeableness is when an individual is 
concerned about the plight of others and ready to help them, at the same time believe that the 
others will be equally helpful in return. The statement proves that agreeable person is high 
17 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
selfless. High level of agreeableness affect the social reactivity, but benefit in developing a 
reciprocal relationship with stakeholders which harmoniously help to increase the business 
profitability (Lawan et al., 2015). However, in the findings of Zhao and Seibert (2006), they 
expect entrepreneur with high level of agreeableness can be suffering more from bargaining 
disadvantage. Thus, they suggested that lower end of agreeableness will become an appropriate 
personality to increase business performance. 
Emotional Stability: Emotional stability or neuroticism in its destructive description is 
comparable to unambiguousness toward entrepreneur success (Abualbasal et al., (2019). 
Caliendo et al., (2011) held that emotional stability can be described as relaxed, calm, and able to 
tolerate with indecision in stress situation. Hence, according to Olowa and Olowa (2015), 
individual with stable emotion can well manage in any pressure and maintain good relationship 
with others. 
2.2 Empirical literature 
Under this section of the study the researcher reviewed the various studies that have been done in 
relation to the entrepreneurship as well as the various literatures which can be linked to the 
research objectives. The review was done under the following headings: The effect of Access to 
Credit on Graduate Entrepreneurship; Factors that influence Graduate Entrepreneurship; and 
Factors that Hinder Entrepreneurship. 
2.2.1 Students’ Perception about Entrepreneurship  
Mcgrath and Macmillan (2000) in a study among high school students in Scotland established 
that teachers and the media had a significance influence on students’ discernment of 
18 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
entrepreneurship. In their discoveries, both the teachers and the TV depicted a negative image of 
the entrepreneur as one continually facing money worries.  
Marire et al., (2017) also did a study to examine the drivers of entrepreneurial intentions among 
tertiary students in Zimbabwe. The study focused on four major areas, thus individual attitude, 
subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and entrepreneurship education on 
entrepreneurial intentions.  The researchers used the quantitative approach to collect the views of 
200 university students of Zimbabwe. The structural equation modeling procedure was used by 
the researchers tested the hypotheses of the study. The outcome of the study shows that the 
intention of students to engage in entrepreneurship is significantly influenced by individuals’ 
attitudes, students’ perceived behavioral control and entrepreneurship education. The study also 
revealed that factors like subjective norms did not have any major predictive link relationship 
with students’ entrepreneurial intentions. 
 A study by Luiz and Mariotti (2008) sought to examine the perceptions of people in developing 
countries regarding entrepreneurship. The study was situated within the context of the emerging 
culturally diversity of the economies. The study further examined the traits of entrepreneurs in 
various group of young people and adults in South Africa. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 
survey gathered data from all developing countries. The result of the study ranked South Africa 
as the lowest among all the developing countries that were selected for the study in terms of 
entrepreneurship activities.    
 Lawan et al., (2015) also conducted a research on the attitude and perception of students on 
entrepreneurship education programme. The study also considered how the awareness of 
students on entrepreneurship education can affect their employment ambitions. The researchers 
19 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
used described cross section design to randomly select 340 final years student of Bayero 
University in Nigeria. The researchers used the statistical software, SPSS 16 to examine the data. 
The outcome of the study exposed that a significant majority of 85% of the respondents had 
positive perception about entrepreneurship (p = 0.0001), 58.8% of the respondents held that the 
entrepreneurship programs which were offered by their universities were not adequate to equip 
them to start their own businesses, as the courses were not specific and adequate. (72.1%). The 
outcome of the study also shows that 84.1% of the respondents had negative attitude towards 
entrepreneurship (p = 0.002). Finally the study revealed that 52.9% aimed to be self-reliant after 
graduation.  
Abualbasal et al., (2019) also conducted a study on students’ attitude towards entrepreneurship at 
Princess Sumaya University for Technology. The main purpose of the study was to explore the 
various factors that affect the attitude of students towards entrepreneurship by concentrating on 
areas such as students’ entrepreneurial awareness, students’ entrepreneurial traits, as well as the 
impact of entrepreneurship on the society and on the individual and the society. The study 
included students who were pursuing varied academic programs at Princess Sumaya University 
for Technology.  The various responses which were collected were analyzed using Chi-square 
test. The study found that students at Princess Sumaya University for Technology have high 
level of entrepreneurship spirit but the study revealed substantial dissimilarities as far as their 
attitudes towards entrepreneurship is concerned.  
Ute et al., (2002) conducted a study on the perceived supportiveness of the environment towards 
entrepreneurs. The study examined the attitudes and people’s perceptions towards 
entrepreneurship in Europe. The study concentrated on three countries in the Central Eastern 
Europe which were going through various transitions from planned to market-based economic 
20 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
systems. The researchers saw entrepreneurs and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) as 
key players in the transformation process. The study was comprehensive and was segmented into 
two phases. The first study was designed to examine the opinion on the state’s perceived support.  
Whiles the second phase of the study considered the various cultures’ interpretation of the 
concept of entrepreneurship. The researchers explored the two main sources of support of 
entrepreneurship; government support and support from the general public.  
As far as support for entrepreneurship is concerned, one could track the number of 
entrepreneurship-oriented programs which have been instituted by the state to support 
entrepreneurs; the flexibility in securing license to start businesses; flexible regulator 
requirement for starting businesses; state protection against unfair competition from foreigners; 
tax incentives for start-up. On the side of support from the general public, some of the 
perceptions may include the viability of loans; low cost of renting; the desire of people to 
patronize local goods. 
2.2.2 The effect of Access to Credit on Graduate Entrepreneurship  
Accessibility to credit is of primary importance to start-ups as well as private entrepreneurs who 
are pursuing to grow and develop their businesses. Financial institutions like commercial banks 
offer credit facilities in the form of small business loan. Entrepreneurs often find it difficult to 
access this form of credit facility because of the small size of their businesses and lack of trust on 
the part of the commercial banks that the credit will be repaid.  In other instances the stringent 
and non-flexibility of the lending conditions are unfriendly to graduate entrepreneurship (Mokua, 
2013).  
21 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
A study by Berger et al., (2005) sought to examine the factors that affect entrepreneurship in the 
United States of America and found that differences in the structures of financial intermediaries 
in the US influence the credit constraints of prospective entrepreneurs. Canales and Nanda 
(2008) also found a similar effect of commercial banks’ conditions of lending to private 
businesses in Mexico. The outcome of their study further indicate the central role of the 
collaboration between the structure of commercial banks and the competitive environment when 
considering the terms of lending to small and micro businesses in Mexico. Bozkaya and Kerr 
(2007) postulates that economies with resilient employment protection laws where dismissal of 
employees is more difficult are linked with weaker private equity markets. Their study further 
revealed that institutional environments has the propensity to affect the presence of certain types 
of financial intermediaries and hence on the availability of startup capital in certain types of 
businesses.  
Babatunde et al., (2016) did a research with the aim of examining the effect of credit availability 
to SMEs on the economic growth in Nigeria. The study considered a period from 1981 to 2012. 
The researchers used vector autoregressive model to avoid the problem of endogenity. The 
outcome of the study shows that though inflation has a negative effect on SMEs financing, it still 
has a significant effect on economic growth. This study concludes that there is a need for 
government to deepen efforts to intensify SMEs financing in the country through the 
introduction of a special intervention fund for SMEs.  
A study by Mwangi (2004) conducted a study to find the relationship between access to credit 
and financial growth of small and medium enterprises in Nairobi. The researcher used a 
descriptive survey design to conduct the study.  They used the cluster sampling to select 40 
SMEs in Nairobi. The researchers used secondary sources of data. The financial records of the 
22 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
selected SME’s were examined from the year 2009 to 2013.  Mwangi  measured access to credit 
was examined through a scrutiny of the loan book records from SME’s, asset turnover was 
measured using sales proceeds divided total assets while the size of the firm was measured using 
the return on sales which is net income divided by sales.  The dependent variable of the study 
was financial growth which was assessed using rise in net assets. Quantitative data was collected 
it was analyzed using descriptive method. Regression analysis was used to develop a model.  The 
findings of the study show that access to credit to SMEs is a major problem faced by most 
owners and managers of SMEs because a significant majority of them lack security or collateral 
to be able to access credit facilities from banks.  
2.2.3 Factors that influence Graduate Entrepreneurship    
Kuttim and Kiss (2014) investigated the willingness of tertiary students to enter into 
entrepreneurship. The aim of the study was to identify the content of university education and its 
impact on students’ entrepreneurial intentions. The study design used was cross-sectional and the 
sample was made up of students from 17 European countries which had been group for the 
purpose of analysis by the level of economic development into two country groups: efficiency-
driven and innovation-driven economies. Frequencies and binary logistic regression was used to 
analyze the impact of different factors, including participation in entrepreneurship education. 
The result indicates that the programs that were offered by universities were not necessarily the 
most relevant skill needed in entrepreneurship. 
  Olowa and Olowa (2015) conducted a study with the aim of assessing the factors that affect 
entrepreneurship development. The study focused on small and micro agribusiness firms. The 
researchers used purposive sampling to collect data from 120 owners and managers of SMEs 
within the agribusiness industry.  Both descriptive statistics and multiple regression models were 
23 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
used to analyze the data that was collected. 73.3% of the respondents were male. 71.6% of the 
total respondents were married. The outcome of the study shows that 85% of entrepreneurs who 
were sampled had a business size between 1 and 2 million Naira worth. 68.33% had an average 
family size and monthly income of 5.0 and ₦84,833.00 respectively. The outcome of the study 
also showed that 56.7% of the respondent were senior secondary school graduates. It was found 
that 56.2% of the entrepreneurs were motivated to engage in the agribusiness as a means of 
saving themselves from joblessness. The parameter estimates that were generated from  the 
multiple regression analysis revealed that  age, gender, marital status and estimated business size 
was positively correlated  to the entrepreneurs’  rate of participation in agribusiness enterprise on 
the other hand a negative relationship was established concerning family size and primary 
occupation. Also it was found that factors like secondary occupation and educational background 
did not have significant relationship with entrepreneurs’ level of participation in agribusiness 
enterprise development. The researchers suggested that effective and adequate entrepreneurship 
policies such as price balance are needed to address factors that hinder the establishment and 
growth of entrepreneurship. 
Bommes and Kolb (2004) conducted a research which examined the economic factors that affect 
entrepreneurship. The study examined the economic factors at two separate levels, namely, 
structural level and personal positions. Whereas structural levels were referred to as barriers and 
opportunities, personal position was considered as both potentials and limitations. The 
researchers saw tax rates, access to loans and competitive market under structural positions 
whereas personal positions included level of income cover, human capital and skilled training.  
Similarly Jancikova (2004) examined the economic factors that affect entrepreneurial activities 
in the agricultural sector. The study categorized economic factors under measurable and 
24 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
immeasurable factors. The research found that measurable factors that affect entrepreneurship in 
the agricultural sector include financial incentives for employees, organizational structure, and 
geographic location, quality of land and size of organization. The study on the other hand 
categorized immeasurable factors under variables such as non-financial incentives for 
employees, leadership style, quality of management and staffs' attitudes.  In a related study 
which was conducted in Iran with the intention of examining factors that affect empowerment of 
villagers, finance, creativity, personal autonomy, persistence factor, sense of accomplishment, 
organizational factor, education, previous experience and internal control were factors that were 
more predictive individuals’ engagement in entrepreneurship.  
A research by Li (2007) focused on attitude of student Chinese and Indian student entrepreneurs 
in the United States. The attitudes of individuals are influenced by the advanced position they get 
if they become self-employed and whether there are chances for those individuals to start a 
business (Engle et al., 2010). The views about repercussions of risk, income and freedom of 
performing certain behavior affect an individual’s attitudes, as suggested by Douglas and 
Shepherd (2002) and Ajzen and Fishbein (2005). These behavioral consequences can involve 
costs and benefits, behavioral beliefs or outcome expectations (Ajzen & Fishbein, 2005). 
Krueger (1993) stated that individual norms such as people’s views regarding beliefs and values 
are important to them and they wish to imitate those particular norms. Relevant people like co-
workers, family members, spouse, close friends, an individual’s and parents can influenced 
entrepreneurial behavior (Liñán, 2008). People are most likely to have entrepreneurship 
intentions if they have any connections with other entrepreneurs (Autio et al., 2001).  
Asuamah and Awuah (2013) performed an assessment of entrepreneurship intention among 
Sunyani Polytechnic marketing students. The main purpose of the study was to assess the 
25 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
entrepreneurial intention among the students of Sunyani Polytechnic, and also to find out the 
motivators, and obstacles to entrepreneurial intentions. The study adopted a quantitative survey 
design. The sample size for the study was 136 comprising of 94 males and 42 females, who were 
selected by convenient sample method. Primary data were obtained using self-designed 
questionnaire which were administered by the researchers. Data were analyzed using 
percentages, One-way ANOVA. The result indicates that there was high entrepreneurial 
intention among the respondents. It was also found that there are important motivators for 
entrepreneurial intention as well as obstacles in setting up ones firm. The finding again indicated 
that demographic variables such as gender, age, religion affect responses given by respondents.  
Virginia and Carlos (2011) conducted a study on the factors that motivate entrepreneurs to start 
their own businesses. The study considered 340 renounced entrepreneurs in Africa. The findings 
revealed that the key factor that motivates entrepreneurs to start new businesses is their 
commitment to the new idea; their efforts and willingness to perform in the new venture as well 
as their flair for the process. European Commission Communication “Youth on the move” held 
that the motivating factor behind entrepreneurship is independent work which may help to create 
jobs and can serve as a valuable opportunity for young graduates to put the skills they acquire 
from educational institutions in practice, as well as do a job that they have flair for. However 
entrepreneurship and characteristics attributed to entrepreneurship as a personal trait cover quite 
a wide range of aspects; from personal traits, abilities and competences to the attitude towards 
business, entrepreneurship and business people in the society. Hallberg (1998) therefore held that 
in fostering undergraduate students' entrepreneurship-based thinking, it is necessary to discuss 
not only the means of effective financial support allowing to successfully set up one's own 
26 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
business, but also professional training, the development of attributes required for 
entrepreneurship, as well as stimulating interest in entrepreneur's profession.  
2.2.4 Factors that Hinder Entrepreneurship  
Mwasalwiba et al., (2012) conducted a study to assess the challenges faced by new 
entrepreneurs. The study found that some key challenges that entrepreneurs faced include 
difficulty in developing a business idea and vision; challenges in dealing with unforeseen 
conntingencies;  challenges in accessing capital to commence their new businesses; challenges in  
putting a formidable team to manage the businesses; difficulty in matching up with  industrial 
dynamics; lack of marketing facilities; lack of positive mind set ;lack of infrastructural facilities; 
difficulty in getting a suitable  location for the business; challenges in getting a good caliber of 
employees; difficulty in finding loyal customers ; difficulty in dealing with business competition; 
lack of patience in solving problems and lack of sustained motivation.   
Lohitkumar1 et al., (2016) conducted a study on graduate entrepreneurship in Tanzania. The 
outcome of the research revealed that the graduate entrepreneurs in Tanzanian willingly take 
advantage of some key factors such as political dynamics, improved banking system; close 
family ties; partnership and improved tax systems. The outcome of the study however shows that 
graduate entrepreneurship in Tanzania had not reach an appreciable level and hence is battling 
with numerous challenges, some of which include corruption, the challenges in accessing start-
up capital; unfriendly banking policies; lack of trust; rigid taxation policies, lack of technology; 
poor implementation of state policies and unfair business competition. The finding of this 
research is similar to the outcome of earlier study which was conducted by Kristiansen (2001) on 
youth entrepreneurship in Tanzanian.  
27 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
Oluwatomipe et al., (2015) focused on examining the factors that hinder women 
entrepreneurship in Nigeria. The researchers used secondary data from the Federal Office of 
Statistics (FOS), NDHS (2008) and NBS (2007). The study further reviewed study conducted by 
Annabel and Mairo (2007) which focused on the factors that affect the growth of female 
entrepreneurship with strong emphasis on northern Nigeria.  
The purposive sampling was used to collect views of (16) women entrepreneur.  A semi-
structured questionnaire was used to collect the primary data. The researchers used sourcing for 
fuel wood, child marriage and educational exposure of Nigerian women as the key variables and 
examined how these factors impede the growth of women entrepreneurship in Nigeria. The data 
was analyzed descriptively from where we made our own submissions on female 
entrepreneurship in Nigeria. The study found that early marriage was a major hindrance to 
women entrepreneurship. The study also identified poverty as the major hindrance to 
entrepreneurship among Nigerian women. Most of the Women who live in the northern part of 
Nigeria find themselves below the poverty line ($1.25) per day (WDI, 2013). This is proven by 
the fact that firewood is the source of livelihood to a significant majority population of women 
who live in the northern part of Nigeria. Hattab (2015) found the use of electricity, gas and 
kerosene as source of fuel is a sign of affluence in Nigeria whiles poverty is linked to use of 
firewood as source of fuel.  
The study also revealed religious factors also impede women participation in entrepreneurship-
related activities. Women in the northern part of Nigeria are restricted by their practice of the 
Purdah religion. The Purdah religion eliminates women from all form of social engagements and 
political activities which exclude women from entrepreneurship (Olowa & Olowa, 2015). 
Women are therefore under strict obligation to religiously submit to their husbands in every 
28 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
aspect of their lives to the extent that they need approval from their husbands before they could 
execute their business ideas. Also spousal unwillingness to co-operate was found to hinder 
women entrepreneurship in the northern part of Nigeria for those who are married; young girls 
with prospects of becoming giants in the field of entrepreneurship are forced to pull out from 
school and marry because of pressure from their parents.  
Early marriage is undoubtedly linked to poverty.  The study further found that 14 of the 16 
(87.5%) women entrepreneurs said that it was difficult for them to combine entrepreneurship 
with taking care of their family. At the end of the study it was recommended that delaying the 
age at which girls got marriage and allowing them to complete at least secondary education 
could increase women entrepreneurship and reduce poverty among Nigerian women. 
 Hattab (2015) postulated that the challenges of entrepreneurs’ ranges from financial indiscipline, 
regulatory and operational environment constraint, lack of access to credit, lack of skills and 
restricted market access. 
2.2.5 Factors that Enhance Entrepreneurship   
a) Favorable state policies: The state has a critical role to play in providing an enabling 
environment for the private sector to thrive. A study by Harper (2004) revealed that 
governments’ failure to promote private enterprise growth is detrimental to the success of private 
businesses and suggested that in order for the private sector to flourish; State policies should be 
formulated in such a manner that will be friendly to small and medium scale enterprises. Hagg 
and Kurczewska (2016) makes a similar observation that state policies regarding wages, taxation, 
licensing and others are important factors that influence the growth of private sector 
organization. He further posits that government policies could adversely affect the growth of 
29 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
private sector organizations. The role of central government is to create an enabling environment 
for businesses to thrive.  These incentives could be in the forms of tax holidays and other 
stimulus package, conversely due to the informal nature of economies of developing nations, the 
tax –burdens are rather heaped on private limited liability companies, since state revenue 
agencies finds it easier to get them to pay their taxes. Wanjohi (2009) however held that policies 
aimed at enhancing the growth of the private sector should not be engineered unilaterally by the 
state rather there should be a broader stakeholder consultation in order to get the policy to 
respond adequately to the needs and aspirations of all players . 
 b) Access to credit: Access to credit in the form of loans and credit supplies could spark the 
spirit of entrepreneurship in many young people and also help existing business to grow. Credit 
constraint is invariably a major challenge confronting both prospective and existing 
entrepreneurs.  The phenomenon is partly as a result of Ghana’s undeveloped capital market. The 
small nature of Ghana capital market leaves entrepreneurs as well as prospective entrepreneurs 
with no opportunity than to rely on self-financing or borrowing from friends which is always not 
enough for business to achieve their expected growth (Wanjohi & Mugure, 2008). 
 A study by Hattab (2015) revealed that finance-related problems among private businesses is 
partly because of lack of proper structure to link businesses and banks as well as other financial 
institutions. The authors also held that there is little information on the source of finance 
available to entrepreneurs; demand for collateral security; restrictive nature of lending offered by 
commercial banks; entrepreneurs’ inability to meet track record required by the banks. It is not 
enough to have access to finance; it also has to be sufficient. Many small scale businesses 
struggle to meet the expansive demand by their customers. This is because they lack the 
production capacity to meet the demands by their customers, which is as a result of lack of 
30 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
access to adequate capital. Some suppliers are only able to commence production after their 
customers have paid deposit.  Most managers and owners of private businesses lack managerial 
skills and expertise to efficiently manage their organizations. The typical owner or managers of 
small businesses develop their own approach to management through a process of trial and error. 
As a result, their management style is usually more intuitive than analytical; more concerned 
with day-to-day operations than long-term issues and more opportunistic than strategic (Olowa & 
Olowa., 2015). 
 c) Lack of skills: Skills and experience are both indispensable to the success of businesses, thus 
businesses thrive and grow on wheels of skills. Although academic background may have no 
bearings on individuals’ entrepreneurial intentions, it has a relationship with the success of the 
business. Some core skills and competences like management skills; customer relation and 
records keeping are needed to enhance the growth of any business (Olowa & Olowa., 2015). 
2.2.6 Entrepreneurship Education   
Campbell and Mitchell (2012) postulated that entrepreneurship is a general field which has been 
studied from diverse angles and themes, and its writings can be traced to almost every field of 
academic discipline connected to humans and their behavior. The concept of entrepreneurship 
originates from an old literature and defined in countless ways (Bernstein, 2011), extending from 
basically the creation of a new venture (Hagg & Kurczewska, 2016), to limiting the definition of 
term completely to the businesspersons and their engagements (Miller & Collier, 2010).  
The essence  of entrepreneurship in the nation building and economic development increases the 
obligation of academic institutions like universities  in equipping their students with sufficient 
entrepreneurial skills and mindset, which is required to give the countries the valued tycoons 
31 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
who would be able to form businesses and start-ups, which progressively affect the stability  of 
the economy of the country since self-employment has proven to be the key panacea for 
mitigating poverty, stimulating national growth and creating worth (Najim et al., 2013). 
Entrepreneurship similarly plays essential role in a national economy and upturns the efficiency 
of an economy through job creation which results to sustaining an economy and reduce nations 
import burden, thereby offering them with favorable balance of payments (Olowa & Olowa, 
2015). The role of tertiary institutions in developing the idea of entrepreneurship was developed 
through many researches.  
Kolvereid and Moen (1997) found in their study that a strong emphasis on entrepreneurship 
education could increase the students’ inclination to self-employment and also increase the 
students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Another research by Jones et al., (2008) concluded that 
education process can be significantly affected by entrepreneurial orientation since universities 
can develop the risk assessment techniques of their products (students), spark their creative 
abilities, inspire them, intensify their tolerance for uncertainty and equips the students to 
recognize opportunities. Conversely, Chrisman et al., (2012) concluded that entrepreneurship 
courses have no significant influence on the performance of an entrepreneur but have a bearing 
on the creation of business ventures; this could mean that entrepreneurship courses which are 
taught by tertiary institutions could serve as a stimulation factor for students to start their 
businesses but whiles in school the skills acquired from school will not be enough for the student 
to succeed throughout the later stages of the entrepreneurial process.   
Henderson and Robertson (2000) postulates that though entrepreneurial education at the tertiary 
level of education is condemned by many researchers as theoretical, tertiary education has the 
potency of giving students the inspiration and the insight which influence their choice of 
32 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
entrepreneurship as a profession. Nonetheless, colleges were criticized for their inactiveness in 
this field, even though some tertiary educational institutions have developed the needed 
structures for enhancing the teaching of entrepreneurship like technology parks, most of 
universities do not put the facilities into effective use (Kharabsheh et al., 2011).  A Spanish study 
revealed that the limited attention which tertiary institutions give to entrepreneurship could result 
to detrimental consequences on the prospect of entrepreneurship; these can include the limited 
responsiveness among students towards the impending, social, personal, and economic outcomes 
of starting their own businesses. (Luis et al., 2011).   
Research by Kuttim et al., (2014) revealed that entrepreneurship education has a significant 
positive effect on students’ entrepreneurial intentions. They found that there is a substantial 
connection between entrepreneurial intention and entrepreneurship education (Hattab, 2015), 
through students’ participation in empirical and existential constant scholarship practices 
(Robinson et al., 2016), and through developing meaning of action, reflections, and experience 
(Hagg & Kurczewska, 2016). Likewise, the role of entrepreneurship education is to provide 
students with the ability to progress their accomplishment orientation, desire for independence, 
personal control, and self-esteem (Basardien et al., 2016). 
 
 
 
 
 
33 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
CHAPTER THREE 
METHODOLOGY 
3.1 Introduction 
This chapter elaborates on the processes and methods which were used by the researchers to 
provide answers to the research questions related to this study. It describes the research design of 
the study, the population of the study, and the sample size used. It includes the sampling 
techniques employed in the study. It also includes the source of data for the study and the 
research instruments used to collect the data as well as how the data was analyzed. 
3.2 Research Design 
Research design is the strategic plan a researcher adopts to achieve a valid result. Research 
design is the plan or strategy for the collection, measurement and analysis of data, (Cooper & 
Schinder, 1999). The study was descriptive and explanatory, as the study sought to present a 
clear view of issues relating to entrepreneurship and further explore deeply the factors that 
influence graduates’ willingness to engage in the activity.   
The researcher employed the quantitative method of research design.  According to Goski 
(2014), the quantitative research design presents the true view of the respondent without biases 
from the interviewer. The quantitative method expresses the response gathered in quantitative 
terms. The researchers’ resolve to use this research design was anchored on the fact that the 
quantitative method reduce researchers’ bias in the presentation of the result of the study, and 
hence present a more reliable and credible result.  
 
34 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
3.3 Sources of Data 
The researcher used both primary and secondary data. According to Christensen and Williams 
(1990), primary data is the data that is collected directly from the field with specific questions in 
mind. The study used primary data because it assures the originality and reliability of the data. 
On the other hand, secondary data is the type of data which has been used before by earlier 
researcher. It offered a guide and served as medium of comparison.  
Primary data source: The researcher used questionnaires to gather data directly from selected 
students of Valley View University. 
Secondary data source: The current study used journals, reports and online sources like Google 
scholar.   
3.4 Population  
Target population is defined as the complete group of object or element relevant to the research 
project. The Valley View University, Oyibi has a population of 9875 student. The current study 
hence considered a population of 9875 students. 
3.5 Sampling Procedure 
 This refers to the technique that enables the researchers to decrease the number of respondents 
that are collected and used for the study. The researchers used convenience sampling to gather 
views from 150 students of Valley View University, Oyibi. The convenience sampling includes 
selecting elements that are readily available (Amin, 2005). 
 
35 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
3.6 Sample Size 
Saunders et al., (2007) pointed out that the size of the sample and the manner in which it was 
selected would certainly affect the confidence in the data and the extent to which it can be 
generalized. The sample size of the study was 150 students of Valley View University, Oyibi. 
The sample from the target population was drawn by the researcher.   
Sample sizes of 150 students were used for the research; this figure was arrived at scientifically 
by (Nasiurma, 2000). This formula provides the minimum number respondents needed for 
conducting a research. It is however at the discretion of the researcher to either maintain the 
minimum figure or go beyond it during data collection so as to make the sample frame more 
representative. 
𝑁𝐶2 (9875 )(0.5)2
𝑛 =  =  = 78.32 
𝐶2 + (𝑁 − 1)𝑒2 0.52 + (9875 − 1)0.052
Where n is the sample size, N is the population, C is the coefficient of variation (0.5), e is the 
level of precision (0.05) (Nasiurma, 2000).  The total number of student of Valley View 
University, Oyibi currently stands at (9875 ) as at 2016. Therefore by the Nasiurma formulae 
the minimum data to be collected is  78.32 .  
3.7 Data Collection Instrument 
Data was collected using a questionnaire which was designed for the collection of primary data 
for the research. The instrument was organized into four sections, namely demographics; the 
effect of credit on students’ entrepreneurship at VVU, Oyibi; the various perceptions students 
have about entrepreneurship at VVU, Oyibi; and the various factors that hinder students’ 
entrepreneurship at VVU, Oyibi. The instrument was made up of close- ended questions. The use 
36 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
of close- ended minimized the researcher’s ability to exercise discretion in the interpretation of 
the responses gathered from the respondents hence reduced the researchers’ bias and enhanced 
the reliability of the outcome.   
3.8 Data Analysis 
The study made use of data collected from both primary and secondary sources.  As mentioned 
above, the researcher used questionnaires to collect the primary data whiles the secondary data 
was collected via academic journals, reports and internet sources like Google scholar.   After 
collecting the primary data, the response gathered from the questionnaire was analyzed using 
Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 14.0.  Simple percentages and means (central 
tendencies) were used to analyse the quantitative data obtained from the questionnaires 
administered. Regression analysis was done to establish the relationship that exists between the 
dependent and the independent variables, thus students’ entrepreneurial intentions and access to 
credit respectively. 
3.9 Ethical Considerations 
In order to maintain the ethics of conducting the research, the consent of the respondents was 
sought by the researcher and the purpose of the study explained to them. Moreover, the 
researcher held the identity of the respondents under strict anonymity. Finally, the researcher 
acknowledged the authors as well as the sources of all the secondary data which were used for 
the conduct of the study. 
 
 
 
37 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
CHAPTER FOUR 
ANALYSIS OF DATA AND DISCUSSION 
4.1 Introduction 
This chapter explains the result which was obtained from the survey on assessment of the effect 
of access to credit on student entrepreneurial intentions. This chapter focuses on three main 
sections of data analysis, thus, demographic, descriptive analysis and discussion of the result. 
The analysis was done in demarcations of sub-headings. The discussion of main findings 
concludes this chapter.  
4.1.1 Demographic Analysis 
The demographic analysis of the respondents present the basic background details of the 
respondents. The demographics analysis of the respondents include: the age of respondents; the 
gender of respondents; the academic level of the respondents. . 
Figure 1:  Age of Respondents 
100
80 20 to 29
60 30 to 39
40 40 to 49
20
0
20 to 29 30 to 39 40 to 49
 
Source: Survey, 2019 
38 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
4.1.2 Age of respondents 
The age of respondents shows that out of the one hundred and fifty respondents, the respondents’ 
age background indicates that 96 of the respondents were within 20 to 29 years old which 
represent 64%; those who were within 30 to 39 years old were 47 respondents which stand for 
31%; whiles 7 of the total respondents were within 40 to 49 years which stand for 5% of the total 
respondents. The outcome shows that a significant majority of the respondents were matured 
enough to provide a reliable input to the study. 
Figure 2: Gender of Respondents  
Male Female
47%
53%
 
Source: Survey, 2019 
4.1.3 Gender 
The gender disposition of respondents was as follows: 80 of the respondents which constitute 
47% of the respondents were males; and the remaining 70 respondents which represent 53% of 
the total respondents were females. The outcome shows that the study is reflective of the views 
of both male and female students of VVU. 
39 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
 
 
Figure 3: Programs offered by the respondents:   
120
100
80
60 Diploma
40 Degree
20 Postgraduate
0
Diploma
Degree
Postgraduate
 
Source: Survey, 2019 
4.1.4 Programs offered by the respondents 
  The outcome of the study shows that: 24 of the respondents were diploma students which 
represent 16%; 111 of the respondents were degree students which represent 74% whiles 15 of 
the respondents were postgraduate students which represent 10%. The outcome shows that result 
of the study reflects views of student at varied levels.  
4.2 Presentation of Data 
This section presents the statistical analysis that was generated from the software, S.P.S.S.  The 
statistical analysis focuses on the three main objectives of the study, thus:  effect of access to 
credit on students’ entrepreneurial intention; regression analysis on the effect of access to credit 
40 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
on entrepreneurial intentions; students’ perceptions about entrepreneurship; and barriers to 
students’ entrepreneurship.  
 
Table 1: Student’s Access to Credit  
 
                                                         Descriptive Statistics  Std.  
  Mean Deviation N 
Commercial banks readily offer students with capital to start their 
businesses 4.2467 0.68480 150 
There is enough information on banks credit facilities  3.7933 1.01199 150 
Interest on loan encourage me to start my own business 3.9800 0.97945 150 
It is easy to access loans from banks  4.5067 0.54028 150 
Banks demand for collateral security deter me from starting my own 
business 1.4800 0.78338 150 
Source: VVU, 2019 
Mean Scale: 1.0-1.49= Strongly Agree, 1.5-2.49= Agree, 2.5-3.49= Indifferent, 3.5-4.49= 
Disagree, 4.5-5.0= Strongly Disagree.  Std. Deviation Scale: >0.49= Widely Spread.  
 
4.2.1 Effect of Access to Credit on Students’ Entrepreneurial Intention  
The table (1) above present the descriptive statistics (mean score and standard deviation) on each 
of the questions relating to access to credit to students.  The respondents were asked to indicate 
their extent of agreement of each of the questions on access to credit to students.  The results 
from the set of question which relates to that objective have been presented in the table (1) above 
41 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
as follows:  On the question of whether commercial banks readily offer students with loans to 
start their businesses, a mean of 4.2467 was recorded. The result shows that majority of the 
respondents disagree with the question since 4.2467 > 2.5 with a standard deviation of 0.68480> 
0.49 which also indicate that the mean value is widely spread. The outcome of this study is in 
line with a study by McCormick et al., (1996) which revealed that the finance-related problems 
in entrepreneurship is partly because of  lack of proper structure to link entrepreneurship and 
banks as well as other financial institutions.  
 
Credit Channel Theory by Diagne and Zeller (2003) also points to the fact that real economic 
performance and supply of credit by financial intermediaries is the core duty of commercial 
banks. This outcome therefore points to the fact that the commercial banks are failing to offer a 
level playing field for well established businesses and startups. Mokua (2013) on the other hand 
asserts that commercial banks’ reluctance to grant loans to startups is based on the lack of trust 
that the startups have the required skills need to manage the funds, and repay the loans offered to 
them by the banks. On the question of whether there is enough information on banks credit 
facilities, a mean value of 3.7933 was recorded. Since 3.7933 > 2.5, the result supports the fact 
that students do not have enough information on banks credit facilities, with a standard deviation 
value of 1.01199>0.49 which shows that the mean value is widely spread across.  
The Credit Rationing Theory, propounded by Stiglitz and Weiss (1981), offer a framework for 
examining financial market inadequacies. It declares that as far as developing countries are 
concerned, information asymmetry is the key source of financial market malfunction. 
McCormick et al. (1996) also postulates that there is absence of adequate information on the 
source of finance available to entrepreneurs makes it difficult for startups to access credit from 
42 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
financial institutions. Also on the question of whether interest on loan encourage student to 
engage to start their own business, a mean value of 3.9800 was recorded. 3.9800 > 2.5 with a 
standard deviation of 0.97945 > 0.49. The results therefore points to the fact that interest on 
loans discourage student from starting their own business.  The Credit Rationing Theory, 
propounded by Stiglitz and Weiss (1981), found interest charged on loans by commercial banks 
as a major factor that could deter borrowers.  
Further, on the question of whether it is easy to access loans from banks, a mean value of 4.5067 
was recorded. 4.5067< 2.50 which represent respondents’ disagreement to the question with a 
standard deviation value of 1.089 > 0.49 . Canales and Nanda (2008) also found a similar effect 
of commercial banks’ conditions of lending to private businesses in Mexico. The outcome of 
their study further indicate the central role of the collaboration between the structure of 
commercial banks and the competitive environment when considering the terms of lending to 
small and micro businesses in Mexico.  
 
Finally, on the question of whether banks’ demand for collateral security deter student from 
starting their own businesses, the response show a mean value of 1.4800 was recorded. 1.4800< 
2.50 which represent respondents’ agreement to the question with a standard deviation value of 
0.78338> 0.49. Demand for collateral security; restrictive nature of lending offered by 
commercial banks; entrepreneurs’ inability to meet track record required by the banks was found 
by McCormick et al (1996) to have effect on entrepreneurs’ ability to access credit facilities from 
commercial banks.  
43 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
4.2.2 Inferential Statistics 
From the descriptive statistics inferences were made to help achieve the objectives of this study. 
To achieve the objectives, regression and correlation analysis was used. 
The regression analysis presented in the tables 2-4 below, thus the Model Summary table, 
ANOVA table and the Coefficient table show the statistical view of the comparison that was 
done to establish the relationship between the dependent variable (students’ entrepreneurial 
intentions and the independent variable (access to credit). 
 
Table 2: Model Summary 
Model R R Square Adjusted R Std. Error of the Estimate 
Square 
1 0.134a .018 .011 1.66745 
a. Predictors: (Constant), Intentions 
 
The table above indicates a summary of the importance of the variable used in this study. As 
stated, R = 0.134 explains that there is a positive relationship between the independent variables 
and students’ entrepreneurship intentions , thus a growth in the independent variables will lead to 
an increase in students’ entrepreneurship intentions and vice versa. R” is notably the regression 
coefficient whereas R square (R2) represents the coefficient of determination.  
The adjusted R2 = 0.11 shows that an increase in the independent variables will increase 
students’ entrepreneurship intentions by 11% and vice versa. Thus, 11% variation in students’ 
entrepreneurship intentions is explained by access to credit.  
 
44 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
 
Table 3: ANOVAa 
 
Model Sum of df Mean F Sig. 
Squares Square 
Regression 7.495 1 7.495 2.696 .103b 
1 Residual 411.499 148 2.780   
Total 418.993 149    
a. Dependent Variable: Credit               b. Predictors: (Constant), Intentions 
 
Also table 3 showed the analysis of variance within the data gathered. Statistically the table is 
summarized as, F (1, 148) = 2696, p=0.103. This indicates that at a degree of freedom, 148 items 
were measured out of 150 possible items obtaining an F-test value of 2.696 indicating that access 
to credit is significant to students’ graduate entrepreneurship making at p>0.05.  
 
Table 4: Coefficientsa 
 
Model Unstandardized Standardized t Sig. 
Coefficients Coefficients 
B Std. Error Beta 
(Constant) 16.408 .983  16.693 .000 
1 
INTENTIONS .074 .045 .134 1.642 .103 
a. Dependent Variable: Students Entrepreneurial Intentions    
45 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
From this table above a statistical model was reached to summarize the whole phenomenon of 
students’ entrepreneurship. Observably, a simple linear model was formed;  
Y= a + bX                    where: 
Y is the dependent variable 
“a” is the constant in the model 
“b” is the coefficient of X 
X is the independent variable 
Contextually, this study adopted similar model in the form; 
SEI= 16.408+ 0.074                    where; 
GEI is Students Entrepreneurial Intentions  
16.408 is the constant in the model 
0.074 is the coefficient of “C” 
C is Access to Credit  
 
The model highlights the positive effect of Access to Credit.  
Also a unit change in “C” will cause a positive change in GEI by the coefficient of C (0.074) 
given other variables or circumstances. For instance, a one unit increase in involvement will 
cause GEI to increase by 0.074 holding other factors constant. More so, GEI will always be 
equal to 16.408 when “C” is non-existent or zero.  
 
Furthermore, the standardized coefficient beta value shows the correlation between two 
variables. As observed, there is a positive but weak relationship (correlation) between access to 
credit and Graduates Entrepreneurial Intentions. Statistically, r= 0.134 indicated this relationship. 
46 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
Figure 4:  Students’ Choice of Employment   
EMPLOYEE
57%
ENTREPRENUR 
43%
 
Source: VVU, 2019 
4.2.3 Students’ Choice of Employment 
In order to clearly appreciate students’ inclination to entrepreneurship, the respondents were 
asked to choose between working themselves as entrepreneurs and working in prestigious 
business. The outcome shows that 57% of the total respondents expressed their preference for 
working in reputable corporations whiles 43 would prefer to work as entrepreneurs.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
47 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
 
 
 
Table 5: Students Perceptions about Entrepreneurship  
STATEMENT         
S.A A N D S.D. Total  
I will only engage in entrepreneurship if I do not 100% 
get my ‘dream job’ 26% 58%  13% 3% 
Students whose parents are entrepreneurs are 100% 
likely to succeed in entrepreneurship 48% 33% 2% 12% 5% 
Starting a business will not allow me to have 100% 
adequate time to learn 21% 46% 1% 32%  
Starting a business is frustrating and time- 100% 
consuming 25% 42% 6% 17% 10% 
Entrepreneurship is meant for students with rich 100% 
family background  58% 26%  16%  
Entrepreneurship venture is risky  40% 58% 2%   100% 
Entrepreneurship favours those who are talented  
entrepreneurs 6% 15% 2% 47% 30% 100% 
Source: VVU, 2019 
4.2.4 Descriptive statistics on the Perception of students on Entrepreneurship 
 The table (5) above presents the descriptive statistics (expressed in percentages) on each of the 
questions; the respondents were asked on the perception of students on entrepreneurship. The 
respondents were asked to present their views using five-point likert scale where: 1 represent 
48 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
Strongly Agree ; 2  represent Agree; 3 represent Neutral ; 4 represent Disagree and 5 represent 
Strongly Disagree.  
The results from the set of questions which relate to that objective have been presented in the 
table above as follows: On the question of whether students will only engage in entrepreneurship 
if they do not get their dream jobs, the outcome of the study shows that cumulatively, a 
significant majority of 84% of the respondents expressed their agreement whiles 16% of the 
respondents stood for disagree. The outcome of the study shows that students are not willing to  
take entrepreneurship as their profession. Kayode et al., (2014) posit that the majority of 
students’ and other African countries have a strong desire to do white collar job; a phenomenon 
which predates back to colonial days.  
The main underpinning of the Traits theory McClelland (1961) is that the main driver of 
entrepreneurship is individual’s behavioral dispositions. On the question of whether students 
whose parents are entrepreneurs are likely to succeed in entrepreneurship, the result of the study 
shows that cumulatively, 81% of the respondents expressed their agreement whiles an aggregate 
of 17% expressed their disagreement. Krueger (1993) stated that individual norms as people’s 
views regarding beliefs and values are important to them they wish to imitate those particular 
norms. Relevant people like co-workers, family members, spouse, close friends, an individual’s 
parents can influence entrepreneurial behavior (Liñán, 2008).  
People are most likely to have entrepreneurship intentions if they have acquaintances with other 
entrepreneurs (Autio et al., 2001). On the question of whether starting a business will not allow 
students adequate time to learn, the responses received indicate that cumulatively 67% of the 
respondents expressed agreement ; and aggregate of 32% of the total respondents chose disagree; 
49 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
1% of the respondents were neutral . Considering the academic pressure that is piled on students 
and the fact that students in Ghana are of the view that their ability to secure better jobs after 
school is dependent on their ability to excel in their academic journey and graduate with good 
grades, students are therefore obsessed about making good grades at the disregard of 
entrepreneurship.  
Also on the question on whether starting a business is frustrating and time-consuming, the 
outcome shows that aggregate of 64% of the respondents agree; 6% of the respondents held a 
neutral view; whiles 27% of the respondents expressed their disagreement to the question.  
Further on the question of whether entrepreneurship is meant for students with rich family 
backgrounds, an aggregate of 84% of the respondents chose agreed whiles the remaining 16% of 
the respondents chose disagree. This outcome is somewhat based on the backdrop of the fact that 
in Ghana, raising capital to start a business is a major barrier to entrepreneurship. However 
raising capital to start a business will obviously not be a challenge for the student from a rich 
family. Also on the question of whether entrepreneurship is perceived by students as a risky 
venture, an aggregate of 98% of the respondents chose agree whiles the remaining 2% of the 
respondents held an indifferent view.  Gelderen et al., (2008) similarly concluded that students 
are in most cases discouraged by a fear of financial uncertainty. Risk-taking inclination has an 
individual’s ability to boldly venture into enterprise without any fear of failure (Petrakis, 2005).  
Risk taking ability is always considered to have great bearings on entrepreneurial orientation, as 
entrepreneurs may not necessary know the full outcome of their investment decisions. For 
instance it takes boldness for one to borrow money from a bank and use it to start a business 
when the borrower is not sure of his ability to succeed and repay the loan. Brush (1985) saw risk 
bearing; investment of one’s effort and resources; creation of something of value; and 
50 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
profitability as the core elements of entrepreneurship. The neoclassical approach views the 
entrepreneur as the one who both explores and takes advantage of a business opportunity and 
hence the carrier of risk (Wennekers & Thurik, 1999).  
Finally, on the question of whether entrepreneurship favours those who are talented 
entrepreneurs, an aggregate of 77% of the respondents chose disagree; 21% expressed their 
agreement whiles the remaining 2% of the respondents held an indifferent view. This outcome is 
in contrast with the findings of Schumpeter (1934) who saw the entrepreneur as an exceptional 
person, who is born with outstanding qualities. The study is however in line with the view 
expressed by Muhammed Yunus, Nobel’s laureate who said, “All human beings are born 
entrepreneurs”. The quotes simply suggest that one does not need to have any natural gift to 
become an entrepreneur.  
Table 6: Barriers to Students’ Entrepreneurship  
 
                                                         Descriptive Statistics  Std.  
 Mean Deviation N 
The training I have received from my school is not practical 
enough to ensure my entrepreneurial success 1.9667 0.75455 150 
I lack the needed experience to start my own business 2.20000 1.422494 150 
I am scared by the regimented regulatory requirements.   2.1267 1.21123 150 
I  lack business ideas to start my own business 3.7651 1.23786 150 
I do not have the capital to start my own business 2.0333 1.04539 150 
I cannot compete with existing businesses 1.7600 0.95313 150 
Source: VVU, 2019 
51 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
Mean Scale: 1.0-1.49= Strongly Agree, 1.5-2.49= Agree, 2.5-3.49= Indifferent, 3.5-4.49= 
Disagree, 4.5-5.0= Strongly Disagree.  Std Deviation Scale: >0.49= Widely Spread.  
 
4.2.5 Descriptive statistics on Barriers to Student Entrepreneurship  
 The table (6) above presents the descriptive statistics (mean score and standard deviation) on 
each of the questions relating to factors that hinder students’ entrepreneurial intention.  The 
respondents were asked to express their extent of agreement of each of the questions on factors 
that hinder students’ entrepreneurial intention.  The results from the set of question which relate 
to that objective have been presented in the table above as follows:  On the question of whether 
the training they had received from their school is not practical enough to ensure their 
entrepreneurial success a mean of 1.9667 was recorded. The result shows majority of the 
respondents agree with the question since 1.9667< 2.5 with a standard deviation of 0.75455> 
0.49 which also indicate that the mean value is widely spread.   
The study outcome deviates from the outcome of a study by Henderson and Robertson (2000) 
which found that though entrepreneurial education at the tertiary level of education is 
condemned by many researchers as theoretical, tertiary education has the potency of giving 
students the inspiration and the insight which influence their choice of entrepreneurship as a 
profession.  
The outcome of the current study is however in line with the outcome of a study by Kharabsheh 
et al., (2011) which found that even though some tertiary educational institutions have developed 
the needed structures for enhancing the coaching and learning of entrepreneurship like 
technology parks, most of the universities did not put the facilities into effective use. Lawan et 
al., (2015) also conducted a research on the attitude and perception of students on 
52 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
entrepreneurship education programme. The result of the study revealed that a significant 
majority of 85% of the respondents held that the entrepreneurship programs where were offered 
by their universities were not adequate to equip them to start their own businesses, as the courses 
were not specific and adequate.   
On the question of whether the students’ lack experience to start their own businesses, a mean 
value of 2.20000 was recorded.  Since 2.20000 < 2.5, the result points to the fact that students 
lack the needed experience to start their own businesses, with a standard deviation of 
1.422494>0.49 which shows the mean value is widely spread across. Bennet (1997) postulates 
that skills and experience are both indispensible to the success of businesses, thus businesses 
thrive and grow on the wheels of skills. The study is in line with the study by Bennet because his 
study revealed that academic background had no bearings on individuals’ entrepreneurial 
intentions, yet it has a relationship with the success of businesses.  
Also on the question of whether students are scared of the regimented regulatory requirements, a 
mean value of 2.1267 was recorded 2.1267> 2.5 with a standard deviation of 1.21123 > 0.49.  
The response also points to excessive bureaucracy when it comes to registering business in 
Ghana. It was found that the state institution delay in granting permits for startups to commence 
business. Lewis and Pendrill (1999) also in their study found red tapes in state institutions as the 
major setback to many startups.    
Further, on the question of whether students lack business ideas needed to start their own 
businesses, the response show a mean value of 3.765. 3.7651> 2.50 which represent respondents’ 
disagreement to the question with a standard deviation value of 1.23786> 0.49. Mwasalwiba et.al 
(2012) also conducted a study to assess the challenges faced by new entrepreneurs. The study 
53 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
found that some key challenges that entrepreneurs faced include difficulty in developing business 
ideas and vision.  On the question of whether student do not have the capitals to start my their 
business, the response show a mean value of 2.0333 was recorded. 2.0333 < 2.50 which 
represent respondents’ disagreement to the question with a standard deviation value of 1.04539 > 
0.49.  
The result is in line with the outcome a study by Mwangi (2004) which was conducted to 
examine the relationship between access to credit and financial growth of small and medium 
enterprises in Nairobi. The study revealed that access to capital was a major barrier to 
entrepreneurship. Finally, on the question of whether I cannot compete with existing businesses, 
the response show a mean value of 1.7600 was recorded. 1.7600 < 2.50 which represent 
respondents’ agreement to the question with a standard deviation value of 0.95313> 0.49.  
The Ghanaian market has been dominated by foreign businesses that take advantage of the 
flexible tax regimes of their home countries and supply a variety of goods at relatively cheaper 
prices than local entrepreneur. This creates an uneven level playing field for local entrepreneurs. 
Directly linked to their challenge is the failure on the part of a government to institute policies 
that will empower local entrepreneurs to fairly compete with their foreign counterparts.  
A study by Harper (2004) revealed that governments’ failure to promote entrepreneurship growth 
is detrimental to the success of private businesses and suggested that in order for the private 
sector to flourish; State policies should be formulated in such a manner that will be friendly to 
small and medium scale enterprises. Mau et al., (1984) makes a similar observation that public 
policies regarding wages, taxation, licensing and others are important factors that influence the 
54 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
growth of private sector organization. He further posits that government policies could adversely 
affect the growth of private sector organizations.  
The role of central government is to create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.  
These incentives could be in the forms of tax holidays and other stimulus package, conversely 
due to the informal nature of economies of developing nations, the taxes are rather heaped on 
private businesses, since the state revenue agencies finds it easier to get them to pay their taxes.  
4.3 Discussion of the Result  
The aim of the study was to examine the various factors that affect graduates’ entrepreneurship. 
The study however emphasised on how access to credit affect graduates’ entrepreneurship with 
three main objectives, the effect of Access to Credit on students’ Entrepreneurship; the various 
perceptions students have about Entrepreneurship; and factors that hinder students’ 
entrepreneurship. The study was conducted at the Oyibi campus of the Valley View University. 
This section discusses the key fallouts of the study under each of the objectives.       
                                                                                                        
4.3.1 Objective one: The effect of Access to Credit on students’ Entrepreneurship at the 
Valley View University, Oyibi. 
The first objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of access to credit on students’. In order 
to achieve this objective, the study examined access to credit to students.  The study revealed that 
commercial banks are reluctant to offer loans to students. This outcome is in line with a study by 
McCormick et al., (1996) which revealed that banks unwillingness to offer students with loans is 
a major barrier to entrepreneurship.  
The study also found that students do not have enough information on banks credit facilities that 
are entrepreneurial-oriented. This makes it difficult for perspective entrepreneurs to apply to the 
55 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
banks for loans.  High interest on loans was found to discourage student from starting their own 
business.   
Finally, it was found that banks demand for collateral security deter student from starting their 
own businesses. Demand for collateral security; restrictive nature of lending offered by 
commercial banks; entrepreneurs’ inability to meet track record required by the banks was found 
by Mc Cormick et al., 
 (1996) to affect entrepreneurs’ ability to access credit facilities from commercial banks. The 
outcome of the regression analysis points to the fact that access to credit has a significant effect 
on students entrepreneurship intention with (R2= 0.11). This means access to credit account for 
11% of students’ entrepreneurial intentions at the Valley View University. The result also shows 
a positive relationship of 0.74 between side and access to credit and students’ entrepreneurial 
intentions. 
 
4.3.2 Objective two:  The various perceptions students have about Entrepreneurship at the 
Valley View University, Oyibi. 
The second objective of the study was to examine various perceptions students have about 
entrepreneurship at the Valley View University, Oyibi. The results of the study show that 
students will only engage in entrepreneurship if they do not get their dream jobs. This means that 
students are reluctant to enter into entrepreneurship as a profession.  
 
Most Ghanaian youth prefer working in state owned corporation to working for themselves. This 
may be a signal that the youth are unwilling to bear the risk that comes with establishing and 
managing one’s own business. Also the outcome shows that students consider those whose 
56 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
parents are entrepreneurs to stand a better chance of succeeding in the field of entrepreneurship.  
This perception is anchored on the fact that most people consider entrepreneurship as a field that 
requires practical experience and exposure which comes inevitably to those whose parents and 
relatives are entrepreneurs.  A similar view was expressed by Autio et al., (2001) who posit that 
people are most likely to have entrepreneurship intentions if they have any connections with 
other entrepreneurs. The students also perceived entrepreneurship as a field that is time-
demanding which will not allow students enough time to learn. Considering the academic 
pressure that is piled on students and the fact that students in Ghana are of the view that their 
ability to secure better jobs after school is dependent on their ability to excel in their academic 
journey and graduate with good grades, students are obsessed about making good grades as the 
disregard regard entrepreneurship.  
 
Entrepreneurship also perceived that students from rich family backgrounds were likely to 
succeed. Considering the fact that access to credit has been found to be a major barrier to 
entrepreneurship, it is assumed that students whose parents are rich could easily mobilize 
resources to start their businesses. The study found that students perceive entrepreneurship as a 
risky venture; Gelderen et al., (2008) similarly concluded that students are in most cases 
discouraged by a fear of financial uncertainty. Risk-taking inclination has an individual’s ability 
to boldly venture enterprise without any fear of failure (Petrakis, 2005).  
 
Risk taking ability is always considered to have great influence on entrepreneurial orientation, as 
entrepreneurs may not necessary know the full outcome of their investment decisions. For 
instance, it takes boldness to borrow money from a bank and use it to start a business when one 
57 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
is not sure of his ability to succeed and repay the loan. Brush (1985) saw risk bearing; investment 
of one’s effort and resources; creation of something of value; and profitability as the core 
elements of entrepreneurship.  
 
4.3.3 Objective three: Factors that hinder Students’ Entrepreneurship at Valley View 
University, Oyibi. 
The last and final part of the study was to examine the factors that hinder students’ 
entrepreneurship at Valley View University, Oyibi. The results of the study shows that the 
entrepreneurial training students receive from their school are not practical enough to ensure 
their entrepreneurial success.  The outcome of the current study is however in line with the 
outcome of a study by Kharabsheh et al., (2011) which found that even though some tertiary 
educational institutions have developed the needed structures for enhancing the teaching and 
learning of entrepreneurship like technology parks, most universities do not put the facilities into 
effective use.   
 
Bennet (1997) also postulates that skills and experience are both indispensable to the success of 
businesses, thus businesses thrive and grow on wheels of skills. Abdul-Fatahi (2015) stated that 
“purposefully, Ghana’s educational system needs to be in touch with its relevance and, therefore 
make our graduates 21st century problem solvers and not problems themselves. As a result they 
should be made productive and efficient for our economic growth and development’’.  
 
The study also found that students are discouraged by the regimented regulatory requirements 
involved in starting a business in Ghana. The response also points to excessive bureaucracy 
58 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
when it comes to registering business Ghana. It was found that the state institution delay in 
granting permits to startups to commence business. The study also found lack of capital as a 
barrier to entrepreneurship. The result is in line with the outcome of a study by Mwangi (2004) 
which also found that access to capital was a major barrier to entrepreneurship.  
 
Finally, it was found that students are discouraged by the fear of competing with well-established 
businesses. The Ghanaian market has been dominated by foreign businesses that take advantage 
of the flexible tax regimes of their home countries and supply a variety of goods at relatively 
cheaper prices than local entrepreneur who are burdened with huge taxes. This creates an uneven 
level playing field between local entrepreneurs and their foreign counterparts.  
 
Mau et al., (1984) makes a similar observation that state policies regarding wages, taxation, 
licensing and others are important factors that influence the growth of private sector 
organization. He further posits that government policies could adversely affect the growth of 
private sector organizations. The role of central government is to create an enabling environment 
for businesses to thrive. These incentives could be in the form of tax holidays and other stimulus 
package, conversely due to the informal nature of economies of developing nations, the tax are 
rather heaped on private limited liability companies, since state revenue agencies finds it easier 
to get them to pay their taxes.  
 
 
 
 
59 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
CHAPTER FIVE 
 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS  
5.1 Introduction  
This chapter is organized into three parts. The first part presents the summary drawn from the 
findings. The second part deals with the recommendations and the final part discusses the 
conclusion of the study. 
5.2 Summary of Findings 
This study was done to examine the effect of access to credit on students’ entrepreneurial 
intentions.  The conduct of this study was very vital because of the increased rate of 
unemployment in Ghana which is caused by the growth of the country’s population without a 
corresponding expansion of entrepreneurship to absorb the unemployed youth. The study 
considered Ghana’s first and arguably most populated private university, Valley View 
University, Oyibi.  The study further sought to examine: the effect of access to credit on 
students’ entrepreneurship at the Valley View University, Oyibi; the various perceptions students 
have about entrepreneurship at the Valley View University, Oyibi; and the factors that hinder 
students’ entrepreneurship at Valley View University, Oyibi. The study reviewed the Discovery 
and opportunity theory of entrepreneurship (equilibrium destruction theory) by Schumpeter 
(1934); Sociological Theory by (Weber, 1920) and the traits theory by (McClelland, 1961).  
 
In order to understand the factor that affect the supply side of credit to entrepreneurs and the 
flow of credit from financial intermediaries, the study reviewed The Credit Rationing Theory and 
Access to Finance by  Stiglitz and Weiss (1981) and Credit Channel Theory by Diagne and 
60 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
Zeller (2003). The methodology of the study served as the blueprint on how the study should be 
completed. A sample size of 150 students of VVU who were made up of 80 males and 70 female 
students who were randomly selected form varied departments of the university. The study also 
used 24 diploma students which represent 16%; 111 degree students which represent 74% and 15 
postgraduate students which represent 10%. The convenience sampling technique was used to 
select the target 150 respondents and the respondents were asked using close- ended questions.  
 
The quantitative methodology of research was used to conduct the study. The presentation of 
data was done in tabular forms with explanations, descriptive statistics and graphical form. The 
discoveries of the study are summarized under the three main objectives of the research as 
follows: 
 
5.2.1 Objective One 
 The study found that access to credit has a significant effect on students entrepreneurship 
intention with (R2= 0.11). The study revealed that commercial banks are reluctant to offer loans; 
students do not have enough information on banks credit facilities that are entrepreneurial 
oriented; and banks’ restrictive requirement deter students from accessing credit from banks.  
5.2.2 Objective Two 
The second objective of the study was to examine various perceptions students have about 
entrepreneurship at the Valley View University, Oyibi. The study found that students perceive 
entrepreneurship as a stop in gap to wait for employment in prestigious organizations; students 
perceive that those whose parents are entrepreneurs stand better chance of succeeding in the field 
of entrepreneurship; students also perceived entrepreneurship as a field that is time-demanding 
61 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
which will not allow students enough time to learn; and students perceived entrepreneurship as a 
risky venture. 
5.2.3 Objective Three  
The last and final part of the study was to examine the factors that hinder students’ 
entrepreneurship at Valley View University, Oyibi.The research found that: the entrepreneurial 
training students receive from their school is not practical enough to ensure their entrepreneurial 
success;   lack of capital is a barrier to entrepreneurship; and students are afraid of competing 
with well-established businesses.  
5.3 The Conclusion of the Study 
Based on the findings, the study concludes that access to credit has a positive effect on students’ 
entrepreneurial intentions.  The strength of this outcome is that once credit is made accessible to 
students, many SME businesses will begin to spring-up in Ghana, which will culminate into a 
boost of the Ghanaian economy at large, and also reduce the rate of unemployment. The 
weakness associated with this finding is that in the long run, cost of labor will increase, as 
graduate will be unwilling to offer their services to other entrepreneurs and state agencies.  
The study also concludes that students have negative perception about entrepreneurship. The 
inherent weakness in the finding is that since Ghanaian youth are attracted to the public sector 
employment, more effort and resources would have to be spent on educating students on the need 
to embrace entrepreneurship. The threat associated with this finding is that even if capital is 
made accessible to students, there is the high probability that some of the graduates might feel 
reluctant to access capital. Hence the likelihood that the fund will lie redundant.  
62 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
Finally, the entrepreneurship education students receive at the tertiary level is not enough to 
equip them to start their own businesses. The weakness associated with this finding is that since 
tertiary institutions serve as the “laboratory” where human capital is manufactured, any failure 
on the part of the academia to inculcate into students the needed skills required for transforming 
society will make difficult it for the country to create a generation of industrialists.  
5.4 Recommendations 
The recommendations of the study are based on the current findings of the study. 
 It is recommended that the state should consider setting up a special bank with the sole 
aim of financing students’ entrepreneurship.    
 Government should offer startups with special incentives to enable them to compete 
fairly with well-established businesses and their foreign counterparts. 
 There is the need for students to be deliberately reoriented about the benefits of 
entrepreneurship. 
 It is also recommended that equity fund should be created to assist entrepreneurs.  
 It is further recommended that business advisory centers should be established in all 
tertiary institutions to guide student to nurture their business ideas.  
  5.5 Suggestions for Further Studies  
Considering the relevance of entrepreneurship to the development of economies, it is 
recommended that future studies should:  
 Expand the scope to examine the effect of other factors other than access to credit on 
students’ entrepreneurship.  
63 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
 In order to get a more reliable, credible and representative outcome, it is suggested that 
the scope of future studies should be widened to include other universities. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
64 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
REFERENCE 
Abualbasal, M.A., Sumaya.P., Rand, E. B., & Princess, S. (2019). students’ attitude towards 
entrepreneurship at princess sumaya university for technology. Journal of  entrepreneurship 
  education. Pp.67-122. 
Amin, M.(2005). Social Science Research, Conception, Methodology and Analysis; Kampala, 
 Makerere University. 
Ajzen, I., & Cote, N.G. (2008). Attitudes and the Prediction of Behavior. Attitudes and Attitude 
 Change. New York: Taylor and Francis Group. 
Anabela, D., Arminda, D.P., Mário, F.J.R., & Ricardo, G.R., (2013). Psychological 
characteristics and entrepreneurial intentions among secondary students. Education and 
 Training, 55(8/9), 763-780. 
Abimbola, O. H., Okafor, E. C., & Ahmadu, F. O. (2007).‘Women entrepreneurship in Nigeria: 
challenges and prospects for quality of life.’ Ife Centre for Gender and Behavior, 5(1), 1089-
 1102. 
Al-Mohammad, S.M. (2010). The impact of BA education over the entrepreneurial intentions of 
Jordanian students: An application of theory of planned behavior. Jordan Journal of 
 Business Administration, 6(2), 262-293. 
Ajzen, I. (2005). Attitude, Personality and Behavior (2nd ed.). Poland, EU: Open University 
  Press. 
 
65 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
Autor, D., W., & A. Kugler (2007). ‘Does employment protection reduce productivity? 
 Evidence from U.S. states’, Economic Journal, 117 (521), 189-217. 
 
Babatunde, A.,  Yemisi, K,E., Akomolafe,J., & Babalola A O.(2016). Access to Credit by SMEs 
  and implications for economic growth in Nigeria. Ado Ekiti, Nigeria. 
Basardien, F., Friedrich, C., & Twum-Darko, M. (2016). Evidence-Based Practices of Promoting 
Entrepreneurship Education in Higher Education Institutions in Africa. Journal of  
 Economics and Behavioral Studies, 8(5), 68-81 
Bates, A. (2013). Transcending systems thinking in education reform: Implications for policy-
makers and school leaders. Journal of Education Policy, 28, 38-54. 
Bernstein, A. (2011). Nature vs. nurture: Who is interested in entrepreneurship education? 
 Washington, D.C: USA. 
Berger, A. N., & Udell G. F. (1995). ‘Relationship lending and lines of credit in small firm 
 finance’,Journal of Business, 68 (3), 351-81. 
Braverman, A., & Guasch, J.L. (1986). Rural Credit Markets and institutions in developing
 Countries: Lessons for policy Analysis from Practice and modern Theory. World 
Development, 14(10):1253-1267. 
Bomess, A., & Kolb, G. (2004). “Values and Entrepreneurship in the Americas” 
 Entrepreneurship, Oxford Management Reader, New York: Oxford University Press. 
66 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
Buame, S., & Wolff, B. (2010). Entrepreneurial intent: a twelve-country evaluation of Ajzen's 
model of planned behavior. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 
  16(1), 35-57. 
Burritt, R., & Schaltegger, S. (2014) Accounting towards sustainability in production and supply 
chains. The British Accounting Review, 46, 327-343. 
Bozkaya, A., & Kerr, W. (2007), ‘Labor regulations and European industrial specialization: 
 Evidence from private equity investments’, HBS Working Paper 08-043. 
Campbell, N., & Mitchell, D.T. (2012). A (partial) review of entrepreneurship literature across 
 disciplines. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, 1(2), 183-199. 
Canales, R., & Nanda, R. (2008). Bank structure and the terms of lending to small businesses’, 
 HBS Working Paper 08-101. 
Carland, H., Carland, J. W., & Hoy, F. (2002). " Who is an entrepreneur?" Is a question worth 
 asking. Entrepreneurship: Critical Perspectives on Business and Management, 2, 178 
 
Chrisman, J.J., Mcmullan, W.E., Ring, J.K., & Holt, D.T. (2012). Counseling assistance, 
entrepreneurship education, and new venture performance. Journal of Entrepreneurship and 
 Public Policy, 1(1), 63-83. 
Christensen, G., & Williams. K. (1990). Research in Social Work.  Publishers inc.   
  Itasca. Illinois. 
Cooper, C.R., & Schindler, P.S. (2006). Business research methods (10 ed.). Boston: McGraw-
 Hill. Pauline’s Publications. 
67 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
Douglas, E.J., & Shepherd, D.A. (2002). Self-employment as a career choice: attitudes, 
entrepreneurial intentions, and utility maximization. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 26 
 (3), 81-90. 
Diagne, A., & Zeller, M. (2001).Access to Credit and its impact on Welfare in Malawi. IFPRI 
 Research Report. 
Drucker, P.F. (1993), Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Harper Collins Publishers, New York. 
Engle, R.L., Dimitriadi, N., Gavidia, J.V., Schlaegel, C., Delanoe, S., Alvarado, I., He, X., 
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behaviour: An introduction to 
 theory and research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley 
Greenwood, J., & B. Jovanovic (1990). ‘Financial development, growth, and the distribution of 
 income’, Journal of Political Economy, 98 (5), 1076-107. 
Holt, D. (2003). Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation. New Delhi: Prentice Hall 
Hall, B. (1987). “The relationship between firm size and firm growth in the US manufacturing 
  Sector.” Journal of Industrial Economics 35 (4): 583–606. 
Hisrich, R., Peters, M, 0., & Shepherd, D. (2008). 7th ed. Entrepreneurship. NY:   
  McGraw Hill. 
International Monetary Fund (IMF). 2015. Financial Access Survey, IMF, Washington DC. 
Kayode, A., Samuel, A., & Silas, F.A. (2014). The rising rate of unemployment in Nigeria: The 
socio-economic and political implications. Global Business and Economics Research Journal, 
3(2), 12-32. 
68 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
Krueger, N.F. (1993). The impact of prior entrepreneurial exposure on perceptions of new 
 venture feasibility and desirability. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 18(1), 5-21. 
Kuttim, I., & Kiss , M. (2014). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory 
 and research. Reading: Addison-Wesley. 
Lawan, U. M., Envuladu, E. A., Mohammad, M. A., Wali ,N.Y.,& Mahmoud , H. M. (2015). 
Perceptions and Attitude towards Entrepreneurship Education Programme, and Employment 
Ambitions of Final Year Undergraduate Students in Kano, Northern Nigeria International 
 Journal of Education and Research Vol. 3 No. 11 November 2015 
Li, W. (2002), ‘Entrepreneurship and government subsidies: A general equilibrium analyses, 
 Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 26, 1815-44. 
Liñán, F., & Chen, Y.W. (2009). Development and cross‐cultural application of a specific 
instrument to measure entrepreneurial intentions. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice,  33 (3), 
 593-617. 
Lohitkumar, L., Sivaprasad ,A.,&  Sreenivas, C. (2016) Challenges faced by new entrepreneurs. 
  Srikakulam, Andhra: Pradesha 
Mwasalwiba, E.,Dahles. H., & Wakkee, I .(2012). Graduate Entrepreneurship in Tanzania: 
Contextual Enablers and Hindrances. European Journal of  Scientific Research  pp.38-402 
Lorz, M. (2011). The impact of Entrepreneurship Education on Entrepreneurial Intention. The 
University of St. Galen, School of Management, Economics, Law, Social Sciences and 
 International Affairs, Germany 
69 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
Matthews, C. H., & Moser, S. B. (1996). A longitudinal investigation of the impact of family 
background and gender on interest in small firm ownership. Journal of Small Business 
 Management, 34, 29-43. 
Mau, S. D. (2006). Hong Kong Legal Principles: Important Topics for Students and 
 Professionals. H K University Press.  
McCormick, D., & Pedersen, P. (1996). Small Enterprise Flexibility and Networking in Africa 
  Context. Nairobi: Longhorn Kenya Ltd. 
Mcgrath, G., & Macmillan, C. (2000). Entrepreneurial mindset: strategies for continuously 
creating opportunity in an age of uncertainty. Boston: Harvard Business School Press  
  Books. 
Mouton, J. (1996). Understanding Social Research. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers. 
Mokua, K. (2013). Factors influencing credit financing of small scale business enterprises, in 
 Kisii County, Kenya, University of Nairobi. 
Miller, R.A., & Collier, E.W. (2010). Redefining entrepreneurship: A virtues and values 
 perspective. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics, 8(2), 80-89.  
Mueller, S.L. (2004). Gender gaps in potential for entrepreneurship across countries and cultures. 
  Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 9(3), 199-220. 
Olowe, F. T., Moradeyo, O. A., & Babalola, O. A. (2013). Empirical study of the impact of 
microfinance bank on small and medium growth in Nigeria. International Journal of 
 Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences, 2(6), 116. 
70 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
Onugu, B. A. N. (2005). Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria: Problems and 
 prospects. St. Clements University: Nigeria. 
Saunders, K., Allen, B., & Williams, I. (2007). Sampling size and techniques. Journal of 
 Statistics review, 5(2), 11-18. 
Shane, S., Locke, E.A., & Collins, C.J. (2003). Entrepreneurial motivation. Human Resource 
 Management Review, 13(2), 257-279. 
Schumpeter, J. A. (1934). The Theory of Economic Development. USA: Harvard   
  University Press. 
Schumpeter, J. A. (1959). The Theory of Economic Development. Cambridge: Harvard 
 University Press, Massachusetts. 
Schwartz, S. H. (1999). A theory of cultural values and some implications for work.  
 Applied Psychology: An International Review, 48(1), 23-47. 
 
Stein, J. C. (2002), ‘Information production and capital allocation:  Decentralized   
 versus hierarchical firms’, Journal of Finance, 57 (5), 1891-921. 
Ibrahim, W. N. A., Bakar, A. R., Asimiran, S., Mohamed, S., & Zakaria, N. S. (2015). Impact of 
Entrepreneurship education on the entrepreneurial intentions of students in technical and 
vocational education and training institutions (TVET) in Malaysia. International Education 
 Studies, 8(12), 141-156. 
Olowa, O. W., & Olowa, F. O.A. (2015). Factors Affecting Entrepreneurship Development  
in Agribusiness Enterprises in Lagos State, Nigeria Global Journal of Management and Business 
 Research of Economics and Commerce .pp.65-91. 
71 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
Oluwatomipe, A. P. Adebanke O.I., Babatunde A. A., & Paul S. O. (2015). Exploring the 
Hindrances to Women Entrepreneurship, Development and Prosperity in Nigeria IBIMA 
 Publishing, Ota: Nigeria  
Oluronshola, J. A. (2013). Problems and Prospects of Small Scale Industries in Nigeria,  
  Paper Presented at SMIEIS Seminar by the Central Bank of Nigeria. 
Hattab, H. W. (2015). The Impact of Entrepreneurship Education on Entrepreneurial  
  Intentions of University Students in Egypt. The Journal of Entrepreneurship,  
  23(1), 1-18.  
Hägg, G., & Kurczewska, A. (2016). Connecting the Dots: A discussion on Key   
  Concepts in Contemporary Entrepreneurship Education. 58(7/8), 700-714. 
Hallberg, K. (1998). Small and Medium Entities. A framework for Intervention. World bank 
  Small Enterprises unit. Private sector development. Washington DC. 
Kuttim, M., Kallaste, M., Venesaar, U., & Kiis, A. (2014). Entrepreneurship Education at 
University Level and Students Entreprenerial Intentions. Journal Procedia-Social and 
 Behavioral Sciences, 110, 658-668.           
Hussain, A., & Norashidah.M. (2015). Impact of Entrepreneurial Education on Entreprenerial 
Intention of Pakistani Students. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business  Innovation,   
  2(1), 43-53.           
Ute,S.,Martin.L.,Dominika,D.,&Peter.G.R, Marire, E., Mafini, C., & Dhurup, M.  (2017).   
Drivers of entrepreneurial intentions amongst generation students in Zimbabwe. International 
 Journal of Business and Management Studies.pp.12-18. 
72 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
Wanjohi, A.,& Mugure, A. (2008). Factors Affecting the Growth of Mses, Kenya: Kiserian 
Zimmerer, T. W., Scarborough, N. M., & Wilson, D. (2008). Essentials of Entrepreneurship and 
 Small Business Management. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc. 
Wooldridge, J. (2002). Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data. MIT Press 
Yarima, Y.A. (2014). Socio-Economic effects of unemployment among the youth in Nigeria. 
  Journal of Contemporary Issues in Business Research, 3(5), 240-249. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
73 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
 
APPENDIX  
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA BUSINESS SCHOOL  
Dear Sir/ Madam,  
I would be grateful if you could spend some time to answer the following questions as accurately 
as possible for me. You are assured that any information provided would be used for academic 
purposes only and will be held strictly confidential.  Topic: the effect of Access to credit on 
students’ entrepreneurial intention; a case study of the Valley View University, Oyibi. 
Section A- Personal details: 
i) Age of respondent:   20 to 29 years [   ]    30 to 39 years [   ] 40 to 49 years [   ]    50 to 59 
years [   ]    60 years and above [   ] 
ii) Gender: Male [    ]   Female [     ] 
iii) Program:  Certificate [     ]   Diploma [     ]   Degree [    ]    Postgraduate [     ] 
 
 
 
 
 
 
74 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
 
SECTION A 
THE EFFECT OF ACCESS TO CREDIT ON STUDENTS’ ENTREPRENEURSHIP 
The questions in this section relate to the effect of credit on students entrepreneurship at VVU, 
Oyibi. Please express your extent of agreement to each of the questions below by ticking (√) the 
most suitable option. Where:  S.A= Strongly Agree; A=Agree; N=Neutral;  D=Disagree 
and S.D= Strongly Disagree  
Statement   
S.A      A N D S.D. 
1. Commercial banks readily offer students with        
capital to start their businesses. 
2. There is enough information on banks credit      
facilities.  
3. Interest on loan encourages me to engage me to      
start my own business.  
4. It is easy to access loans from banks       
5. Banks demand for collateral security deter me      
from starting my own business   
 
 
 
 
 
 
75 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
 
SECTION B 
THE VARIOUS PERCEPTIONS STUDENTS HAVE ABOUT ENTREPRENEURSHIP 
The questions in this section relate to the various perceptions students have about 
entrepreneurship at VVU, Oyibi. Please express your extent of agreement to each of the 
questions below by ticking (√) the most suitable option. Where:  S.A= Strongly Agree; 
A=Agree; N=Neutral;  D=Disagree and S.D= Strongly Disagree 
 
6. Which of these will you opt for?  a) Self-employment [   ] b) Working for others in a 
prestigious organization [    ] 
  
Statement   
S.A      A N D S.D. 
1. I will only engage in entrepreneurship if I do      
not get my ‘dream job’. 
2. Students whose parents are entrepreneurs are      
likely to succeed in entrepreneurship 
3. Starting a business will not allow me to have      
adequate time to learn 
4. Starting a business is frustrating and time-      
consuming 
5. Entrepreneurship is meant for students with rich      
family background  
6. Entrepreneurship venture is risky       
7. Entrepreneurship favours those who are 
talented entrepreneurs      
8. I will only engage in entrepreneurship if I do 
not get my ‘dream job’      
9. Students whose parents are entrepreneurs are 
likely to succeed in entrepreneurship      
 
 
 
76 
 
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
 
 
SECTION C 
FACTOR THAT HINDER STUDENTS’ ENTREPRENEURSHIP 
The questions in this section relate to the various factors that hinder students’ entrepreneurship at 
VVU, Oyibi. Please express your extent of agreement to each of the questions below by ticking 
(√) the most suitable option. Where:  S.A= Strongly Agree; A=Agree; N=Neutral;   
D=Disagree and S.D= Strongly Disagree 
 
Statement   
S.A      A N D S.D. 
Descriptive Statistics      
1. The training I have received from my school is 
not practical enough to ensure my 
entrepreneurial success      
2. I lack the needed experience to start my own      
business 
3. I am scared by the regimented regulatory      
requirements.   
4. I  lack business ideas to start my own business      
 
 
 
77