Assessment of Entrepreneurial Competencies Among Owners of Micro and Small Enterprises in Mekelle City, Ethiopia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71624/9205av11Keywords:
Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial competencies, Technical skills, MSE owners, Personal Entrepreneurial Competencies (PECs)Abstract
Entrepreneurial competency is widely regarded as a key determinant of the survival and growth of Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs), yet in Mekelle City, Ethiopia, systematic evidence on the specific competency and technical skill gaps of MSE owners has remained limited. This study, therefore, assesses the entrepreneurial competency levels and technical skill gaps of MSE owners in Mekelle City. Using a descriptive survey design, data were collected from 234 MSE owners through a structured questionnaire, covering demographic background, ten dimensions of entrepreneurial competency measured through a 30-item scale, and technical skills measured through 11 items. One-way ANOVA was used to examine whether demographic and business-related factors influence competency levels; family background and business sector emerged as the two factors with a statistically significant effect. Owners from business family backgrounds scored higher than those from civil-servant or agricultural backgrounds, and owners in the construction and trade sectors showed stronger competencies than those in manufacturing, services, or urban agriculture. Across the ten competency dimensions, owners scored comparatively well in opportunity seeking, persistence, commitment, demand for efficiency and quality, risk-taking, and networking, but weaker in goal setting, information seeking, systematic planning and monitoring, and self-confidence, pointing to an uneven and internally inconsistent competency profile. The technical skill assessment further showed that most of the day-to-day operations are not guided by systematic or scientific methods. Taken together, the findings point to specific, addressable gaps in both the entrepreneurial and technical competencies of MSE owners in Mekelle City and suggest that targeted, locally designed training could help close them, with implications for curriculum design and enterprise-support programming in Ethiopia's emerging economy.
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