Abstract:
The aim of this study was to investigate the selected factors influencing
entrepreneurial engagement among public university students in the Nairobi
metropolitan area of Kenya. This study aimed to identify the psychological, socio
cultural, institutional and economic factors that influence entrepreneurial engagement,
among university students. The study adopted descriptive research design. Specific
areas studied were Nairobi, Kiambu and Kajado counties in the Nairobi metropolitan
area. There are six public universities in this region that were included in the study,
including the University of Nairobi, Kenyatta University, Jomo Kenyatta University
of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya Technical University, Cooperative University,
and Multimedia University. The target group included 1,006 public university
students from incubation centres and actively involved in entrepreneurial ventures.
The sample size was 286 respondents. In this study, open-ended and closed-ended
questions were used to collect data. Data analysis involved the use of descriptive and
inferential statistical techniques. Descriptive statistical data used frequency and
percentage as well as measures of central tendency that were the mean and standard
deviation. Inferential statistics on the other hand employed correlation and regression
analysis. The results were presented in pie-charts, bar-graphs and statistical tables.
Data for analysis was obtained from 279 out of the 286 respondents who returned the
questionnaire representing an overall response rate of 97.5%. Overall, the findings
showed that entrepreneurial engagements among university students could be
positively predicted by the factors in the regression model. In particular, the results
showed that the psychological well-being of students had a significant and positive
influence on entrepreneurial participation among university students in the Nairobi
metropolitan region implying that psychological factors significantly predicted
students' entrepreneurial engagement in universities, t (278) =9.81;β=0.027;
p<0.001). Regarding the Social factors, the study established that social factors have a
positive influence on entrepreneurial engagement of university students implying that
social factors significantly predicted entrepreneurial engagement of university
students (t (278) =13.73; β=0.028; p<0.001). Further the study found that institutional
related factors influenced entrepreneurial engagement of university students in doing
business and working life implying that institutional factors significantly predicted
entrepreneurial engagement among university students (t (278) =14.90; β=0.0308;
p<0.001). Economic factors on the other hand significantly predicted entrepreneurial
engagement (t (278) =14.38; β=0.0314, p<0.001) which implied that economic
development had a positive influence on the entrepreneurial participation of students
in public universities within the Nairobi metropolitan region. All the predicting
factors (institutional, psychological, socio-cultural and economic) explained 49.11%
variance of entrepreneurial engagement (adjusted R2= 0.49.11, F (4, 278) =95.33,
p<0.001). This study concluded that university students need to discover, develop
and use self-efficacy, innovation, management and fulfil the requirements in order to
participate in entrepreneurship. Benefits such as business education, vocational
training/curriculum and suitable workplaces should be created for young people who
can attend business schools. It is important to encourage policy makers and university
tutors to continue using entrepreneurship education as an effective strategy for
teaching university students psychological skills such as good interpersonal skills,
innovation, management, and the need for success.
