Challenges Facing Youth Entrepreneurs in the Artisan Sector of Aba, Abia State

This study investigates the entrepreneurial challenges confronting young artisan business owners in Aba, Abia State, South East Nigeria, one of Nigeria's most productive centres of small-scale manufacturing and craftsmanship. Aba hosts thousands of youth-led enterprises in leather goods, garments, cosmetics, and metalwork, making it a rich context for studying the practical obstacles to entrepreneurial sustainability among young Nigerians. The study employs a descriptive survey approach, administering a structured questionnaire to 200 youth entrepreneurs aged 18 to 35 drawn from five major artisan clusters in Aba through convenience sampling. The questionnaire assessed challenges across financial, infrastructural, regulatory, marketing, and skills dimensions. Data were analysed using frequency distribution and ranking analysis. Findings rank inadequate power supply as the single most severe operational challenge, cited by 91 percent of respondents, followed by difficulty accessing formal financing, poor road infrastructure affecting distribution, harassment by multiple tax and levy collectors, and the dumping of cheaper imported goods as competitive threats. Youth entrepreneurs who have completed at least secondary school vocational training report significantly fewer production quality challenges than those who are self-taught. The study argues that Aba's artisan sector possesses significant growth potential that is structurally constrained rather than inherently limited. Recommendations include the extension of Aba's industrial cluster electrification, formalisation of levy collection by Abia State authorities, and the expansion of government-backed artisan skill certification programmes. Keywords: youth entrepreneurs, artisan sector, Aba, entrepreneurial challenges, small manufacturing.