Transforming Cyber Risks into Opportunities: Assessing How Digital Entrepreneurship Drives Youth Empowerment, Innovation, and Economic Inclusion

Abstract

The world of digital technology has transformed the economy at a very high rate leaving the youth with opportunities and threats. This paper will examine how digital entrepreneurship can be used as a revolutionary instrument to empower youths and as a strategic measure of curbing cybercrime. The research is based on the Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986), which proposes that offering the youth with digital skills, positive surroundings, and entrepreneurship knowledge will stimulate them to participate in productive activities instead of participating in unlawful online practices. The literature review reveals a research gap: although the entrepreneurship studies are on the increase, not many studies have explicitly determined the relationship between digital entrepreneurship and cybercrime prevention among the youths in the developing countries, especially in Nigeria. The study design was a descriptive survey where the structured questionnaires were issued to 320 respondents, 287 (89.7) of whom were eligible. Regression and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Findings indicate that digital entrepreneurship positively affects the youth empowerment (r = 0.61, p < 0.01) and innovation/job creation (r = 0.56, p < 0.01) and negatively on cyber-risk involvement (r = -0.42, p < 0.05). The availability of training, mentorship, and internet connectivity were also important factors that affected the level of participation. The paper concludes that besides making youths more empowered, digital entrepreneurship can also act as a preventive measure to cybercrime because the potential threats are converted into legitimate opportunities. Such recommendations as digital skills training expansion, better investments and infrastructure, development of mentorship networks, and the incorporation of cyber-ethics in the curriculum of entrepreneurship are offered to ensure sustainable youth growth and digital inclusion.