Development of an entrepreneurial mentorship model for job creation and youth development in South Africa

Author : Peace Amaka Mbadugha

Abstract :Background and importance of the research: South Africa has one of the highest youth unemployment rates globally, which presents a severe problem. Educational curriculum that does not align with the demands of the market, economic structural issues and socioeconomic disparities that have their origin in the apartheid era all contribute to the worsening situation of youth unemployment. Scholars across the globe have produced rich literature on the importance of entrepreneurial mentorship in developing countries, primarily focused on promoting entrepreneurial intents/uptake and its contribution to the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and national economic growth. Typically, their argument centres on harnessing entrepreneurial spirit among students in tertiary education, which could culminate in revenue-generating entrepreneurship. Other schools of thought account for its significance in lowering unemployment, poverty, and inequality. Entrepreneurial mentorship is one of the promising remedies for improving youth employment and development. Moreover, it involves a practical way of teaching, leading to skills acquisition that fosters growth and harnesses entrepreneurial mentorship among students. Synopsis of the research problem: There is an urgent need to create an entrepreneurship model in higher education institutions. Entrepreneurship mentorship can be utilized to eradicate poverty and improve job creation, particularly among the youth in South Africa. This study seeks to address the issue of youth unemployment and ways to foster youth development. Hence, this study hopes to evaluate the implementation of the entrepreneurial mentorship model as a tool to combat youth unemployment. Objectives & Questions: Research Objectives: To determine the influence of entrepreneurial mentorship on undergraduate students’ entrepreneurial intention to establish students’ perceptions of a career in entrepreneurship and to investigate the effectiveness and challenges of existing government intervention frameworks addressing youth unemployment/youth development. And explore the efficacy and issues of current youth entrepreneurship intervention initiatives. To identify the elements influencing the perceptions

Keywords :Youth unemployment, Entrepreneurship Mentoring, Entrepreneurial Intention, Mentoring Model, higher education in South Africa, and Entrepreneurship Development in higher education

Conference Name :International Conference on Sustainable Development and Planning (ICSDP-25)

Conference Place Columbus, USA

Conference Date 27th Jun 2025