Browsing by Subject "youth entrepreneurship"

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    A theory and evaluation of the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation (AGOF) scholarship Programme
    (2025) Van Wyk, Olga; Chapman, Sarah
    The present study evaluates the AGOF Scholarship programme, which aims to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset among South African youth. This evaluation examines whether the programme's activities achieve the intended outcomes and assesses the coherency of the programme theory. This study utilises a descriptive design, incorporating semi-structured interviews with four programme mobilisers and twelve scholarship beneficiaries (nine success cases and three non-success cases) along with a literature review that includes a synthesis of existing studies related to academic support, entrepreneurial mindset development and youth empowerment programmes to contextualise the findings and assess the programme's effectiveness in achieving its intended outcomes. The findings indicate that AGOF's structured support provided by the Scholarship Development Officers aligns with best practices identified in similar programmes in enhancing academic performance. In addition, experiential activities such as entrepreneurial showcases positively influence entrepreneurial alertness and self-efficacy, consistent with findings from studies in Singapore and Finland. However, gaps were identified in the programme, including the lack of structured career planning and peer feedback mechanisms, which could enhance the programme's effectiveness. This evaluation highlights the Scholarship's potential to address South Africa's socioeconomic challenges by equipping young individuals with the skills and confidence needed to pursue entrepreneurship. These skills may improve young South Africans' prospects and, in turn, contribute to job creation and economic growth.
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    Open Access
    A theory and outcome evaluation of the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation (AGOF) scholarship programme
    (2025) Van Wyk, Olga; Chapman, Sarah
    The present study evaluates the AGOF Scholarship programme, which aims to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset among South African youth. This evaluation examines whether the programme's activities achieve the intended outcomes and assesses the coherency of the programme theory. This study utilises a descriptive design, incorporating semi-structured interviews with four programme mobilisers and twelve scholarship beneficiaries (nine success cases and three non-success cases) along with a literature review that includes a synthesis of existing studies related to academic support, entrepreneurial mindset development and youth empowerment programmes to contextualise the findings and assess the programme's effectiveness in achieving its intended outcomes. The findings indicate that AGOF's structured support provided by the Scholarship Development Officers aligns with best practices identified in similar programmes in enhancing academic performance. In addition, experiential activities such as entrepreneurial showcases positively influence entrepreneurial alertness and self- efficacy, consistent with findings from studies in Singapore and Finland. However, gaps were identified in the programme, including the lack of structured career planning and peer feedback mechanisms, which could enhance the programme's effectiveness. This evaluation highlights the Scholarship's potential to address South Africa's socioeconomic challenges by equipping young individuals with the skills and confidence needed to pursue entrepreneurship. These skills may improve young South Africans' prospects and, in turn, contribute to job creation and economic growth.
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    Open Access
    Enabling a generation of social entrepreneurs: A study to establish if the practice of social entrepreneurship offers inclusive self-employment opportunities for disenfranchised South African youth
    (2018) Carpenter, Janine; Shelley, Elanca
    This study is concerned with contributing to solutions that address the problems of youth unemployment, inequality and poverty in South Africa, specifically among those youth who are being marginalised from participating equally in mainstream economic activities. It argues that financial and digital exclusion, as well as poor access to a quality education, are factors which are currently limiting these youths' economic potential and perpetuating a cycle of unemployment, inequality and poverty in South Africa. The literature and theory of social entrepreneurship presents a strong case to address unemployment, inequality and poverty, as well as to stimulate economic growth by creating new business and self-employment opportunities for the youth. This qualitative grounded theory study evaluates the theory of social entrepreneurship in practice, by comparing the theory to the lived realities of some disenfranchised youths in Cape Town. The study also provides an analysis of the systems of privilege and the dual economy that exist in South Africa. Through feedback received during interviews with a representative sample of the target group, the study offers new insights into the challenges faced when young people are seeking employment or want to start a business in the South African economy. Youth social entrepreneurship development and start-up incubation programmes arguably perform a critical function in facilitating inclusive economic participation among the youth. Developing new insights, concepts and recommendations to maximise these programmes' social impact is a critical function of this study, which ultimately hopes to contribute to the creation of more inclusive entrepreneurial opportunities for disadvantaged South African youth.