Indigenous Knowledge (IK) as a Paradigm Shift in Entrepreneurship Development and Poverty Alleviation: Issues and Policy Recommendations

While global progress on extreme poverty eradication has been made, this has been highly uneven globally and particularly in Africa where a significant proportion of the population continues to live in abject poverty. Although, many of the countries have embarked on various policies for driven small businesses and motivating entrepreneurship for poverty reduction, setbacks are a direct consequence of the neglect of people and their IK typified by their local cultural values, beliefs, tradition and religion for wealth creation, empowerment, and poverty reduction agenda. This paper, using qualitative data and analysis, explores the propensity of IK utilization as a new thinking in entrepreneurship development for enhanced entrepreneurial capabilities building and skills acquisition for sustainable poverty alleviation program and economic development. It concludes that IK provides substantial prospect for improving people’s innovative and commercial skills, and building exciting indigenous-led economies that strengthen viable entrepreneurship, trade, and commercial improvement as well as economic independence. This approach, facilitated through effective governance structure and legal framework, will impact poverty alleviation programs/agenda and reduce poverty incidences. The work remains a novel consequent on less attention given to research on IK, indigenous entrepreneurship practice and poverty alleviation, and economic development in Africa.