ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION AS A PREDICTOR OFPERCEIVED ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS OF LIS STUDENTS IN LENS POLYTECHNIC OFFA, KWARA STATE, NIGERIA

Entrepreneurship education in Nigeria aims to equip students in tertiary institutions with the skills, knowledge, and motivation to succeed in various enterprises. Recognizing its importance in fostering competitiveness in a knowledge-driven economy, the Federal Government mandated entrepreneurship education for all higher institution students. Despite this, many Library and Information Science (LIS) students struggle to create or sustain successful ventures postgraduation, often due to a lack of entrepreneurial orientation. This study investigates the influence of entrepreneurial orientation on the perceived entrepreneurial success of LIS students at Lens Polytechnic Offa, Kwara State, Nigeria. Adopting a descriptive survey design, the study includes all 210 final-year LIS students as its sample. Data analysis reveals that entrepreneurial orientation characterized by innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking significantly influences perceived entrepreneurial success, measured by profit, growth, and customer satisfaction. The findings also highlight the importance of ICT literacy, including skills in information retrieval and database management, as critical to entrepreneurial and professional success. The results suggest that LIS students with high entrepreneurial orientation and ICTproficiency are better positioned to achieve success in business ventures. Recommendations include enhancing entrepreneurship and ICT training within LIS programs, integrating emerging technologies into the curriculum, and regularly updating educational strategies to address evolving industry demands. These steps will better prepare LIS students to navigate the challenges of entrepreneurship and excel as information professionals in a digital age.