INTRODUCTION

The most bold and important of the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000 is to reduce world poverty to fifty percent by 2015. This according to Yunus (2008) can only be achieved if there is the adequate institutional, financial, and policy preparations for it. Emphasis on small business development will go a long way at achieving these goals. For example, Adelaja (2006) averred that interaction between Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) operators is a factor for the development of SME’s in Nigeria. Anwatu (2006) opined that 75% of the private sector in Nigeria is dominated by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) reiterating that Organized Private Sector (OPS) is the engine of growth and creator of wealth and employment. The
Nigeria Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA, 2006) argued that Small businesses are the vehicle for rapid industrialization and development of any nation. Evidences have shown that for any small scale enterprise to be successful, owner manager must possess appropriate skills and abilities to run the business (Orisanaiye, 2000, Okpara and Wynn, 2007). It is therefore, very important for entrepreneurs in Nigeria to develop all necessary skills required for setting and effective running of the enterprises in order to contribute meaningfully to development and self reliance of the nation’s economy toward the achievement of the MDGs. To succeed in today’s competitive market as an entrepreneur; one needs a broad array of entrepreneurial skills. Terry (2005a) argued that business owner needs to possess basic skills necessary to start, develop, finance and market own business.

Entrepreneurial skills compares favourably with the basic skills required for starting, developing, financing and marketing business enterprise as opined by Lyve (2005). Furthering this,