Abstract
<p class="2">South Africa is characterised by high unemployment levels, a low Total Early Stage Entrepreneurial Activity rate, and a high small business failure rate. Entrepreneurship and small business development is seen as a solution to end unemployment in South Africa. A study to understand how to improve small business support was conducted at the University of South Africa and has shown that alumni are unable to apply theoretical knowledge acquired from their studies. The purpose of this article is to explore the potential of the University of South Africa in becoming more entrepreneurial to address the aforementioned challenges. A desk study that reviewed literature was conducted to identify different constructs associated with an entrepreneurial university, namely entrepreneurial education, research and development, innovation, commercialisation and incubation, and stakeholders. In addition to traditional teaching methods, various alternative approaches can be used to stimulate entrepreneurial education to develop the skills of learners/students. To address these challenges a closer relationship between academia, government, and industry is paramount. It is recommended that universities incorporate entrepreneurial education in all their qualifications, expose students to on-the-job training, assist with the incubation of business ideas that students have, and provide a platform for cross-pollination of knowledge between industry, academia, and government.</p>
Highlights
The South African government’s National Development Plan (NDP) foresees that the unemployment rate should drop from 24.9% in 2012 to 14% by 2020 (Zarenda, 2013)
The findings showed that 41.4% of the alumni are not adequately equipped with entrepreneurial skills, while 54% indicated that they need assistance with practical knowledge on how to start a business
This article explored the repositioning of University of South Africa (UNISA) as an entrepreneurial university by assisting UNISA students to become more entrepreneurial minded
Summary
The South African government’s National Development Plan (NDP) foresees that the unemployment rate should drop from 24.9% in 2012 to 14% by 2020 (Zarenda, 2013). Economists according to Duncan (2012) show that the rates of all levels of Total Early Stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) have dropped significantly compared to the 2013 levels. The TEA rate in South Africa has decreased by 34% (from 10.6% in 2013 to 7% in 2014) and the gap between SA and other sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries has widened (Herrington, Kew, & Kew, 2014). This lower entrepreneurial activity was further confirmed by economist Sharp in 2012, that between 2001 and 2011, there was an estimated 2 million small businesses in SA (as cited by Duncan, 2012). Other challenges facing businesses in South Africa are that small businesses do not survive past the first year of trading and the Ministry of Small Business Development (SBD) has put this failure rate as high as 80% (Fin24, 2014, para. 1)
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