Evaluation of Agribusiness Incubation Services and Enterprise Survival Among Youth Entrepreneurs in Lagos State, South West Nigeria

Agribusiness incubation programmes have emerged as a key instrument for supporting youth entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector, providing bundled services including workspace, mentorship, market linkage, and start-up financing. In Lagos State, several public and private sector incubation initiatives have targeted young agro-entrepreneurs, yet systematic evaluation of their enterprise survival and growth outcomes remains limited. This study evaluated agribusiness incubation services and enterprise survival outcomes among youth entrepreneurs in Lagos State. Sixty-eight youth agribusinesses that had participated in structured incubation programmes were tracked over an eighteen-month period through structured interviews and enterprise performance monitoring. Data covered services received, enterprise type, turnover, employment generation, and survival status. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazard regression were applied. Results showed an eighteen-month enterprise survival rate of 71 percent among incubated youth agribusinesses, substantially above the estimated 40 percent survival rate for non-incubated comparison enterprises. Access to market linkage services, financial management training, and continued post-incubation advisory support were the strongest predictors of enterprise survival. Enterprises in food processing and logistics sub-sectors had the highest survival rates. The study recommends extending post-incubation mentorship periods to a minimum of 12 months and prioritising market connection services as the core incubation offering in Lagos State agribusiness programmes. Keywords: agribusiness incubation, enterprise survival, youth entrepreneurs, Lagos State, mentorship.