Impact of Entrepreneurship Fairs on Vocational Students Business Intentions in Kwara State

This study examines the impact of entrepreneurship fairs on the business intentions of vocational education students in technical institutions in Kwara State, North Central Nigeria. Entrepreneurship fairs provide platforms for students to showcase prototypes, interact with business professionals, and gain exposure to the commercial applications of their vocational skills. Despite their growing adoption in Nigerian institutions, empirical evidence on their effectiveness in shaping student business intentions remains limited. A quasi-experimental design is used, with 120 students from four technical colleges in Ilorin East, Offa, and Patigi local government areas divided into fair-participant and non-participant groups. Business intention is measured using a validated scale adapted from Ajzens theory of planned behaviour, administered before and after the entrepreneurship fair season. Independent t-tests and paired t-tests compare pre-post changes and between-group differences. The study predicts significantly higher post-fair business intention scores among participants, driven by improved self-efficacy and exposure to entrepreneurial role models. Findings will shed light on the mechanisms through which experiential events influence entrepreneurial motivation in vocational settings. Recommendations include institutionalising annual entrepreneurship fairs, integrating them with mentorship sessions and funding information workshops, and tracking graduate enterprise outcomes longitudinally. The study contributes to vocational entrepreneurship education research in North Central Nigeria and provides a model for scaling entrepreneurship fair programmes nationally. Keywords: entrepreneurship fairs, business intentions, vocational students, Kwara State, technical education