Centre for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development
University of Maiduguri, Nigeria
Ecosystem in Action - A Nigerian Model: Lessons Learnt.
 In most parts of the world the entrepreneurial
ecosystem has emerged as a benchmark for designing
entrepreneurship policies, especially for new
technology-oriented ventures.
Ecosystems
 Ecosystems generally consist of a set of different interconnected
actors within a specific area, which includes the following
components:
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Universities and R&D institutions,
Qualified human resources,
Formal and informal networks,
Governments/government agencies,
Angel investors and venture capitalists,
Professional service providers, and
An enterprising culture which connects all of these factors in an
open and dynamic way
 Considering the locally based nature of many of these
components, each ecosystem would be characterised
by the very specific and idiosyncratic way in which
these factors are locally available and combined.
Nigeria context
 The policy thrust of the Entrepreneurship Programme in
Nigeria is geared towards the development of
entrepreneurial skills and competencies for people in areas
such as creativity, leadership, business plans, and
networking.
 In 2007, the Federal Government of Nigeria directed the
National Universities Commission (NUC), National
Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) and
National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to ensure
that institutions under their supervision establish Centres
for Entrepreneurship Development as a matter of urgency.
The strategic objectives of this National Policy are to:
 Improve the capacity of youths to develop positive independent and
innovative thought process and overall entrepreneurial mindset, and
 Develop vocational skills as a way of stimulating future graduates
towards venture creation.
 By this policy, all tertiary institutions were expected to integrate
entrepreneurship education into all curricula offered. The NUC, in
carrying out this directive, had designated the courses and course
synopsis for two benchmark courses and charged Universities to add a
few more courses in accordance with their peculiar needs.
University Of Maiduguri
Centre for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise
Development
 Vision:
To create an internationally recognized
Centre of Excellence for spreading the spirit of
enterprise through education, training and research
using innovative, interdisciplinary approaches.
 Mission: To enrich the knowledge horizon of
students and staff in the field of entrepreneurship and
nurture the development of high quality entrepreneurs
with capabilities for creating employment through
business venturing and strategic planning.
 Objectives: CEED is a multi-disciplinary, campus-wide
Centre focusing on entrepreneurial education, training and
research. The Centre seeks to create unique opportunities
through partnerships among students, faculty members,
community entrepreneurial leaders, and companies within
and outside the catchment area. These partnerships are
expected to leverage the strengths of all participants to
develop the critical skills necessary to (1) identify new
opportunities, (2) accelerate the development and
commercialization of new technologies, and (3) create and
grow successful new business ventures. The Centre will
serve as the laboratory of the entrepreneurship programme
and its major objectives are to:
 Create and promote entrepreneurial awareness and
opportunities,
 Nurture the talents and ideas of students to create and
sustain businesses so that they emerge as business
owners with professional skills,
 Offer, through academic programmes, practical
hands-on education in entrepreneurship and servicelearning activities within the community and the
region,
 Provide students with the necessary skills to think
creatively, to successfully launch their own businesses,
or to support an employer in launching and growing
an entrepreneurial venture,
 Offer mentoring and consultancy services to small and
medium scale enterprises within and outside the
catchment area of the University,
 Transfer research efforts from the laboratory to the
marketplace and thus, promote successful clusters of
entrepreneurial businesses, and
Long Term Vision
 Make University of Maiduguri the bedrock for
developing, testing and actualising creative
entrepreneurial skills within the North-Eastern region,
which then moves into other parts of Nigeria’s
socioeconomic environment leading to the export of
knowledge exchange across Africa and on-going
worldwide exploitation.
Views of the Centre
Our Partnership with Wolverhampton
 Already established a framework for the development
of entrepreneurial capacity.
 This has to do with delivery of the local content for
Maiduguri.
Signing of MOU between Wolverhampton and Maiduguri
Resources Available for Exploitation
 Solar Energy
 Bio-resources
 Animal Resources
 Sodom Apple (Calotropis procera)
 Natural Gums (Gum Arabic)
 Vast Human Resources (About 168 million people)
Utility Vehicles of the Centre
Major Challenges of the Centre
University of Maiduguri Microfinance Bank
Visit to the Centre by Wolverhampton Team
Nigeria
Thank you