Abstract
This research examines the unique learning process of the Igbo Apprenticeship System (IAS). This approach to the development of enterprises and entrepreneurship, which originated in the ethnic group of communities in the South-eastern part of Nigeria, uses mimetic learning to instil in its participants knowledge and behaviours intended to create a lifelong approach and mindset to entrepreneurship development. This form of mimetic learning predates the mediaeval era and takes place outside formal educational system. As a consequence, it largely does not rely on participants having a specific level of educational achievement. Rather it required a long-term commitment from the apprentice, their family and the entrepreneur. The research expands the theoretical understanding of the entrepreneurial learning through an evaluation of an entirely experiential base using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) as the critical lens to explore the antecedents of entrepreneurial intention and social learning. It evaluates and combines the available evidence into a conceptual framework that shapes the process of entrepreneurial learning as an experiential activity. Qualitative data gathered from entrepreneurs, who were former apprentices and current apprentices, are critically analysed using the illustrative case study and process tracing approach. The research contributes to the extant entrepreneurial learning process literature by identifying, reviewing and synthesizing available research into a conceptual framework that explores the process of entrepreneurial learning as an experiential process. Key issues in entrepreneurship education including the different informal learning process of the IAS and the identification of specific dynamics in the interaction and development of the learners were examined. The paper concludes with novel suggestions on how education may stimulate this learning process.