Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The lack of jobs in South Africa and eMalahleni has caused many young people to seek their own
job opportunities in the form of setting up their own business. Despite this, many young business
people fail in their ventures due to low capital. In response to this, organisations such as the
National Youth Development Agency have created support structures to support young business
owners in their local area.
The purpose of this study is to explore the extent to which the structures and programmes to
support youth development – as far as entrepreneurship is concerned – help to cultivate the
creation of businesses among the black youth in eMalahleni. Thirty participants who are young
entrepreneurs (under 35 years) participated in interviews that helped to elucidate qualitative
information about the support structures. They were asked how the support structures had helped
them if they participated, or the reasons why they chose not to use the support structure. They
were also asked to identify potential bottlenecks or issues with the support structures that may be
preventing them from being fully accessible.
The results showed that a lack of trust in the support structures, particularly those created by the
National Youth Development Agency, was a major reason for non-participation or choice not to
use. Additionally, many felt that the hierarchy and unwelcoming atmosphere of the support
structures prevented young people from applying. Other reasons given were the fact that the
support structures may not always be geographically accessible and the fact that staff members
were not fully trained to be as helpful as possible. There are several ways in which these support
structures could be improved that are detailed in this research document. The most important
recommendation relates to ensuring that the red tape is removed to make the support structures
more helpful to a larger number of young black entrepreneurs. Creating a more local atmosphere
may also help the support structures to reach their full potential.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/97314 |
| Date | 04 1900 |
| Creators | Boshoma, Bathandekile |
| Contributors | Morrison, John, Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Graduate School of Business. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | x, 45 pages |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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