Entrepreneurship Development as a Tool for Employment Creation, Income Generation, and Poverty Reduction for the Youth and Women

Unemployment and poverty are global challenges, especially in emerging countries. In Somalia, both poverty and unemployment are major problems that are widespread among the youth who constitute more than 70% of the population. Despite the efforts to eradicate, both unemployment and poverty still remain major challenges in the country. Empirical studies have shown that entrepreneurship development plays an important role in socio-economic development. Therefore, this study aims to determine the contribution of entrepreneurship training and education, as well as SMEs’ development to job creation, income generation, and poverty reduction for the youth and women. The study applied a cross-sectional research design using a questionnaire to collect the data from a sample of 120 respondents from fresh graduates and other entrepreneurs who benefited from entrepreneurship training and education of the Next Economy Program provided by SIMAD Innovation Lab and ILO-SIYB Training packages as well as the entrepreneurship training programs provided by Irise-hub. The study applied partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the hypotheses through Smart-PLS (v.3.3.9). The study revealed that entrepreneurship training and education and SMEs’ development have a significant positive relationship with job creation, income generation, and poverty reduction. Therefore, the study findings have significant implications for entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial institutions, practitioners, and policymakers in entrepreneurship development. This study highlights the role of entrepreneurship development as a strategic tool for socio-economic development.