Using Technological Acceptance Model to Measure the intention of Micro Enterprises to accept eNaira in Jigawa State, Nigeria

Management Sciences

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) formally launched the eNaira on October 25, 2021. This move elevated Nigeria to the status of a median country with a legally backed Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and complete sovereignty. The eNaira wallet is a legal tender that must be accepted by citizens as a means of financial transactions in the country. Despite the launch of eNaira, as of August 2022 the acceptance of eNaira has remained significantly low, the average number of eNaira transactions since its commencement amounts to about 14,000 per week—only 1.5 percent of the number of wallets out there. This show that, less than 0.5% of Nigerians were using it a year after it was launched. Hence, the main objectives of this research is to measure the intention of micro enterprises to accept eNaira in Jigawa State, Nigeria. The research employed survey research techniques, and the population of the study included 834,200 micro enterprises owners in the Jigawa State of Northwestern Nigeria. Data was collected from a sample of 382 owners of enterprises through questionnaire instruments. The researcher used Smart-PLS 4.0 to analyze the data. The findings reveal that perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and perceived information have insignificant effects on owners of microenterprises’ interest in using eNaira in Jigawa State, Nigeria. The research recommended that the regulatory bodies should establish cyber security rules and regulations, which will protect the user of eNaira. In addition, the CBN should increase the level of awareness of eNaira among the business owners.

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