The influence of culture on the development of youth entrepreneurs in a selected suburb in Cape Town

Abstract

Coloured people’s entrepreneurial efforts in South Africa are mostly survivalist. Although most of the selected suburb’s youth have high entrepreneurial intentions, most do not become successful entrepreneurs. We are hoping to understand why people think this. Indisputable are the inadequacy of entrepreneurial education and training, a heavily skewed distribution of resources, a lack of mentorship, minimal support from parents, and a cultural upbringing in opposition to entrepreneurship. This study’s objective was to gain insight into the cultural and educational limitations on entrepreneurial development and the entrepreneurial intentions of the selected suburb’s youth. This paper employed quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. The quantitative data was collected from 470 youths through a survey questionnaire. Ten personal interviews were conducted within the qualitative ambit and served to validate the quantitative tool’s results. The quantitative data was analysed using SPSS software, and the qualitative data was analysed by identifying common themes in relation to the quantitative findings. The study revealed a low level of tertiary education, a family orientated culture and a high level of entrepreneurial intention. The findings further revealed that many parents do not run their businesses, which indicated that most of the youth do not stem from entrepreneurially oriented households. The researchers recommend that business incubators be established within the suburb and that schools within the community should partner with the private sector and governmental structures, such as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), and Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA) in order to expose youth to the practical application of entrepreneurship.