Determinants of social entrepreneurial intent among millennials in South Africa with special reference to Shanduka Black Umbrellas, Gauteng province

Abstract

Despite strong policy formulation and intervention in youth programmes in South Africa, participation in social entrepreneurship by millennials is still at a peripheral. Youth unemployment in South Africa has risen to crisis levels despite significant interventions. There is a mismatch between what the education system produces and what is needed in the job market. The factors that determine and influence intentions of the millennial generation regarding social entrepreneurship in an effort to improve the economic development of South Africa are investigated in this study. In order to investigate this, a quantitative research instrument was employed. Structured questionnaires were used, and the subjects for this research comprised of 150 social entrepreneurs who were formally registered under the incubation hub, the Shanduka Black Umbrellas database in Gauteng. To understand the determinants of entrepreneurial intentions among South African millennials, regression analysis was employed to estimate determinants of entrepreneurial intentions. Descriptive statistics indicated the following: • Social entrepreneurship intentions levels among South African millennials is still very high. • Risk tolerance remains low, meaning that very few millennials convert their intentions into social entrepreneurship actions. • There is a discrepancy between social entrepreneurship intentions and real social entrepreneurship actions. The regression model indicated that: • Age, gender, need for achievement, risk tolerance, opportunity recognition, and proactive personality as characteristics were significantly low. • Innovativeness/creativity, entrepreneurial educational support, and perceived entrepreneurial government support were considered to be statistically significantly high in this research. • The significance levels less than or equal to 0.1(10%), 0.05(5%) and 0.01(1%) as measured by the p-value were considered to be statistically significant in this research. This study indicates that the South African Government can reap the rewards of young millennials participating in social entrepreneurial strides which, in turn, creates a pool of employment while reducing the social ills of the country. In conclusion, recommendations are provided using a suggested framework to strengthen the contribution of new knowledge.