Abstract
This study investigated franchising competencies required by prospective university graduate
entrepreneurs for operating small scale distribution of instant noodles in Akwa Ibom State. The study
was guided by three research questions and three null hypotheses. The descriptive survey research
design was adopted with a population of 24 final year business education students. The entire
population was used due to its manageable size. Instrument for data collection was the researchers
structured questionnaire that was subjected to face validity by three validates. A reliability coefficient
value of .79 was obtained using the Cronbach Alpha Statistic. Research questions were answered
using mean and standard deviation, while the t-test statistic was used to test the null hypotheses at
.05 level of significance. Findings of the study among others revealed that the development of channel
of distribution, managerial and warehousing competencies were required by prospective university
graduate entrepreneurs in the distribution of instant noodles in Akwa Ibom State. Based on these
findings, it was recommended that prospective university graduate entrepreneurs be exposed to
development of various channels of distribution competencies by well researched business education
lecturers among others.
Keywords: Franchising, competencies, entrepreneurs, distribution
Publication Date: 2018-06-09