Abstract

The study examines the characteristics, challenges and the role of entrepreneurship in the economic development of the Mfantseman Municipality of Ghana. Descriptive research design was utilsed for the study and qestionnaire was distributed to 100 participants. The data was analyzed into descriptive statistics such as percentages and frequencies into tables and charts using Microsoft excel. The results from the study demonstrated that, majority of the entrepreneurs in the Municipality engaged in service rendering activities and have been in operation for 6-10 years. Moreover, it was revealed that entrepreneurs are faced with the challenges of limited access to finance, limited access to market, inadequate support from government, low demand, high taxes, inadequate equipment and technology and electricity power outage in their operations. Finally, it was discovered that entrepreneurs in the Mfantseman Municipality have played a tremendous role in the economic development of the municipality by creating employment avenues, reducing poverty and contributing to the GDP in the economy. The study recommended that the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) should collaborate with the government to provide these entrepreneurs with the needed technologies and funds. The study is aimed to fill a gap in literature in the area of entrepreneurship in the economic development in Ghana.