Assessing the potential of social entrepreneurship to increase the economic participation of the youth – the case of South Africa

[摘要] This research aimed to assess the potential of social entrepreneurship to contributein increasing the economic participation of the youth in South Africa. With SouthAfrica experiencing high levels of youth unemployment and characterised by apopulation 'youth bulge, an economically excluded youth impedes the economicdevelopment plans of the country. Therefore all economic sectors in South Africashould be assessed for the potential to increase the economic participation of theyouth to aid the delivery of the economic development goals.The research was conducted using a qualitative research methodology as the natureof the research problem lent itself to more descriptive and rich answers. The field ofsocial entrepreneurship is also relatively new and the data available for quantitativeanalysis is limited.The research found that social entrepreneurship has a potentialto increase the economic participation of the youth but is failing to deliver resultsmainly as a result of legislation not recognising a legal entity for socialentrepreneurial activities. The disparities in the definitions of key socialentrepreneurship terms, lack of awareness about the sector and the challengessurrounding the sustainability of social enterprises do not render socialentrepreneurship as an economic opportunity of choice for the youth.

[发布机构] University of Pretoria