Motivational Factors Driving Self-Employment Among Graduates in Ekiti State

This study examines the motivational factors driving self-employment choices among graduates in Ekiti State, South West Nigeria, distinguishing between push factors driven by labour market exclusion and pull factors driven by entrepreneurial aspiration and opportunity recognition. Understanding the motivational basis of graduate self-employment is essential for designing appropriate policy responses: necessity-driven entrepreneurs require livelihood support, while opportunity-driven entrepreneurs benefit from growth-oriented enterprise development programmes. The study employs a descriptive survey design, administering a validated entrepreneurial motivation questionnaire to 220 self-employed graduates aged 22 to 35 drawn from Ado-Ekiti, Ikere, and Ijero-Ekiti. Factor analysis and descriptive statistics were used to identify and rank motivational clusters. Findings reveal a predominantly mixed motivational profile in which push and pull factors coexist for the majority of respondents, with unemployment experience providing the initial impetus and subsequent opportunity recognition and autonomy motivation sustaining entrepreneurial commitment. Pure necessity motivation is found in approximately 35 percent of the sample, predominantly among graduates from less commercially dynamic fields who entered self-employment after prolonged unsuccessful job searching. Desire for financial independence, autonomy, and the opportunity to apply academic knowledge independently are the most frequently cited intrinsic pull motivators. Parental encouragement and peer entrepreneurial success stories are identified as significant external motivation influences. Recommendations include segmented entrepreneurship support policies in Ekiti State that differentiate between livelihood-oriented and growth-oriented graduate enterprise pathways. Keywords: entrepreneurial motivation, graduate self-employment, Ekiti State, push and pull factors, necessity entrepreneurship.