This chapter interrogates the concept of student entrepreneurship as one of the pathways towards uprooting economic marginalization and social exclusion. Young people as both youth or students are confronted by poverty, unemployment, and inequality. The finding from this chapter is that with student active participation, adequate support by universities and other stakeholders, emerging student entrepreneurs could beat the scourge of poverty, hunger, and unemployment experienced by student youth at universities and beyond. The enterprises established by students at higher education institutions such as Durban University of Technology, Mangosuthu University of Technology, and University of KwaZulu-Natal have demonstrated the potential of not only securing livelihood for student entrepreneurs, but also provided employment for other economically marginalized students. Since this chapter is qualitative, case study method and interviews with key student entrepreneurs and officials from the student entrepreneurship support units were used to solicit relevant information.
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Challenges faced by youth-students are exacerbated by lack of labour required skills, lack of employment opportunities, lack of funding and lack of entrepreneurial skills and competencies (Okechukwu, 2019). Youth unemployment among the young people is the highest in the country with 38.2% (Stats SA, 2023). This is then worsened by slow economic growth and lack of investment in youth programmes. The graduate unemployment rate of South Africa is estimated at 33.5% for the youth (15-24) and 10.2% for those aged 25-34 (Stats SA. 2023). In this regard, student entrepreneurship remains one of the strategies university-based youth or students could use not only to gain business skills and experience, but also create formidable and sustainable enterprises. For example, in the USA, student entrepreneurship is instrumental in building the culture of entrepreneurship and elevate it into one of the global economic hubs (Hakobyan, 2016). Similarly, student entrepreneurship in a developing country like South Africa could be helpful in closing the employment gaps created by the prevalence of poverty, unemployment and income inequality.
Student economic exclusion has been one of the major challenges faced by South Africa as it has a high youth unemployment rate of 55.2% which indicates some of the major economic participation issues faced by the youth (Stats SA, 2021). Students have not just watched their livelihood being dictated by the high unemployment rates in the country and less effective government interventions to the solutions which exclude them from their countries’ economy. They have started ventures of student entrepreneurship within university premises where they study as means of curbing hunger, unemployment and socio-economic challenges they face in universities across the country. This chapter is based on a study of 3 universities in Durban KwaZulu Natal South Africa. These are Durban University of Technology (DUT), University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) and Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) all located in Durban.
With focus on students managed enterprises, this study consists of conceptual student entrepreneurship both locally and internationally as more studies in this caliber show success abroad. The chapter investigates students’ socio-economic situations in higher educational institutions which motivates the study as a need to be done. A qualitative research approach was done as the study consisted of 10 students who were interviewed through face-to-face interviews with the support of desktop research from articles, case studies, government documents and university policies. Students’ entrepreneur projects at the University of KwaZulu Natal, Mangosuthu University of Technology and Durban University of technology are supported by their universities’ policies, support and infrastructure for students’ projects. The last part of the chapter consists of findings and analysis of the study and then conclusions.