OMOLABI, IssaAMOSA, Jimoh RafiuSULEIMAN, Ahmed Aremu2024-04-262024-04-262019Omolabi, I., Amosa, J. R. & Suleiman, A. A. (2019). Entrepreneurial Characteristics and New Venture Creation: A Study of SMEs in Kwara State. Akungba Journal of Economic Thought. 11 (Special Issue), 1-15: Published by the Department of Economics, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria.2006-9995https://uilspace.unilorin.edu.ng/handle/123456789/12997The creation of a new venture and its nurturing to a full-blown business firm such as Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) is often seen as a source of innovation and change. It is therefore imperative that answers are provided to the question of why, how, and what are the possible courses of failure that often led to the early extinction of the majority of firms a few years after creation. The creation of many agencies and institutions to regulate and boost the growth and development of SMEs notwithstanding, SMEs still witness a low growth rate as entrepreneurs start businesses but are unable to turn them into sustainable enterprises. Therefore, this study seeks to determine whether or not entrepreneurial characteristics play any role in the creation of SMEs in Kwara State. Other objectives of the study are to: examine the influence of entrepreneurial characteristics on the creation of SMEs and determine the level of relationship that exists between/among entrepreneurial characteristics metrics and innovativeness of entrepreneurs in Kwara State. A questionnaire was served to 144 out of 226 registered SMEs owners in Kwara State through a simple random sampling technique. Only 137 were duly filled and returned giving a 95% response rate. The two hypotheses formulated were tested through regression and correlation analysis. The findings of the study revealed that entrepreneurial characteristics have a significant influence on the creation and eventual development of SMEs (r2=0.740, p-value<0.05) and that a strong relationship exists between/among Entrepreneurial characteristics and innovation (P-value<0.05). The study therefore recommends that owners and managers of SMEs should embark on rigorous training and retraining of business entrepreneurs since some of these characteristics are learnable and encourage membership synergy through information sharing about the existing market, product, and services.enArticle