Igbo Traditional Apprenticeship System: An Indigenous Model of Entrepreneurship Development in South-East, Nigeria

This theoretical paper reviewed Igbo traditional apprenticeship system (ITAS) to identify the features that make it the seedbed of entrepreneurship among the Igbos, its present challenges, and possible solutions. Relevant published works and interviews were employed. The paper found that the potency of ITAS derives from the hands-on approach, the settlement of apprentices, post-apprenticeship business support, and development of character that flows from its rigorous training. ITAS challenges include youth apathy towards participation, rising incidence of fraud, and defaults in apprentice settlement, lack of access to funding from banks and government agencies. Governments’ model suffers from inadequate funding, mismanagement of funds, high mortality rate among government funded MSMEs, and failure to use indigenous systems to develop entrepreneurship in Nigeria, etc. It was found to lag behind ITAS. This paper recommends that government should endeavour to revamp the economy, improve funding, and integrate ITAS into its entrepreneurship development policy and programmes, but should leave its structure and features intact. Government should establish low interest credit facility that settled apprentices can access after verifiably starting their businesses, while a certain percentage of their verifiable settlement should be tax deductible for their masters. The rigorous ITAS training will replace the hurried and shallow training offered by the government model and the effectiveness of ITAS model will, if integrated, boost the effectiveness of the government model among the Igbos.