Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-2-2006
Abstract
A preliminary survey among the Kenyan youth shows that a small but growing number of college graduates are choosing to venture into small-scale businesses on graduation. The researchers interviewed some youth entrepreneurs and found that their experiences in college may have positively influenced their attitudes towards entrepreneurship. This research aims at exploring the link between the experience in colleges and the intentions towards entrepreneurship among college graduates. Institutions that operate in competitive environments are more likely to be innovative and to be more risk-oriented than institutions that do not face competition. In Kenya, privately owned institutions of higher learning do not get any funding from the government, unlike public institutions, and must therefore continuously come up with innovative ways of keeping afloat and ahead of the competition. Students in such institutions may therefore unconsciously experience an entrepreneurial environment. If in addition such institutions encourage students to freely express themselves, regularly consult with students and keep them informed of any plans and projects, invite students suggestions for improvement etc, autonomy supportive environments are created. Consequently, students who study in such environments are more likely to be self-assured and this, coupled with the exposure to entrepreneurship is likely to result in an inclination to go into self-employment as opposed to choosing corporate employment. This study investigates graduates running their own businesses with a view to gaining an insight on how the environments and experiences in universities and colleges may have influenced their career choice of self-employment.
Keywords
youth development--Africa
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Kamau-Maina, Rosemary, "Stimulating Youth Entrepreneurship in Kenya" (2006). Student Scholarship. 401.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/401