Youth Entrepreneurship

This book analyses the opportunities and barriers for youth entrepreneurship amid systemic change in Central and Eastern Europe. The authors cover different aspects of youth entrepreneurship and its contribution to the debate on youth unemployment in transition economies. The book discusses the wide-spread over-optimism regarding youth entrepreneurship, self-employment, and its impact on economic innovation and job creation, resulting from a disregard of critical contextual features and the characteristics of young entrepreneurs themselves. The authors give due acknowledgment of the importance of both factors and so fully understand the impediments to youth entrepreneurship, especially in a transition context. Furthermore, they seek to assess the opportunities and constraints of promotion policies in transition economies. Most importantly, the book provides the first empirical contribution to youth entrepreneurship in Central and Eastern Europe by offering a representative number of case studies. The book will be invaluable reading for scholars and students of transition and developing countries, particularly those with an interest in entrepreneurship.

Young people's natural proclivity for innovation and change makes them ideal candidates for entrepreneurship, provided that the community can provide the necessary support to help them overcome their obstacles and increase their chances of success. In terms of job creation, product and service innovation, market competition, community revitalization, and income generation, youth entrepreneurship benefits a city's economic development. Because youth entrepreneurs face more challenges than adult entrepreneurs, they would benefit from talent development programmes that provide them with skills, mentoring, networking, and access to resources to help them succeed. Determining the Definition of Youth Entrepreneurship In the literature, entrepreneurship is defined in a variety of ways. the practical application of enterprising qualities such as initiative, innovation, creativity, and risk-taking into the workplace (either as a sole proprietor or as a worker in a small start-up firm), while employing the skills required for success in that environment and culture." Canadian youth entrepreneurs are individuals under the age of 30 who are motivated to start an entrepreneurial venture for a variety of reasons, including a desire to: be their own boss obtain an alternative route for advancement from what is perceived to be a dead-end job have more control over their own work and life provide innovative or competitive products and services prove they can do it obtain additional income

Addressing the theoretical and practical gaps in our knowledge around developing internal and external domains of youth entrepreneurship, the book places particular emphasis on South Africa, but offers insights and implications that can be applied far beyond our borders. It makes the case that it is possible to develop internal domains through various models. These models include ‘shifting hope activating potential entrepreneurship’ (SHAPE), ‘youth entrepreneur support’ (YES), and ‘systemic action learning and action research’ (SALAR). Validated through a series of assessments, these models were created as a basis for the development and application of a youth entrepreneurship ecosystem for university students. The study presented in this book describes the development of a youth entrepreneur support network to sustain Individual Entrepreneurial Orientation development among students. It provides insights into a framework and model that can be simulated at other institutions, organisations and youth entrepreneurship development programmes. A useful resource for academics and post-graduate students, the book provides valuable insights on how to develop, implement, apply and monitor new models and best practices to support youth entrepreneurs’ journey on route to entrepreneurial action.

The challenges and opportunities facing the Nigerian youths demand rethinking of new ways of doing things. Youth unemployment and underemployment are at a record high. More than ever, the Nigerian youths are in dire need of finding other avenues to explore in pursuit of life endeavors. Youth employment, underemployment, and unemployment are serious concerns for our society, civilization, and the nation. Ehiobuche and Madueke took a different approach to discussing and presenting a practical approach to youth entrepreneurshipfrom the notion of a shared responsibility for the change of mindset from falling into the victims theory dimensions to intelligent ventures and resilience. Their model presents insight on how a paradigm shift among the youths and the society in general from job search to business development may well lead to entrepreneurs and self-productive citizens. The authors hope to inspire, inform, and encourage todays youths to become tomorrows entrepreneurs, leaders, and good citizens. Making the transition from seeking employment, unemployment, or underemployment to self-employment/entrepreneurship is the primary purpose of this book. The topics include the following: Conquering personal and cultural roadblocks to entrepreneurship Shifting mental and physical focus from employee to employer Avoiding common pitfalls in starting and running a sustainable small business Making the best out of being a youth The authors urge the Nigerian youths to avoid falling into a victim mentality and start their paradigm shift into the mindsets of entrepreneurs.

Demographic pressure and the youth bulge in the developing world pose a major employment challenge. This situation is exacerbated by insufficient job creation, scarce formal wage employment opportunities and vulnerability in the workplace.

This book highlights the issues and challenges faced by youth in nurturing their entrepreneurial mind-set to start-up and sustain a business. Specifically, the Talent Development for Youth Entrepreneurship book captures views on the issues of entrepreneurial engagement among youth in Malaysia, social and cultural attitude towards youth entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship education programme, business support, including physical infrastructure, regulatory framework conditions, access to finance or to start-up financing and skills mismatch faced by entrepreneurs.

This book investigates the prospects of Africa’s sustainable industrialization, with an emphasis on youth entrepreneurship and the mechanisms in place to support both industrial and corporate entrepreneurs. The volume addresses two specific issues; first, industrialization and youth entrepreneurship and secondly, youth entrepreneurship training and education. The emphasis on youth entrepreneurship to drive sustainable industrialization in Africa is driven by three points: first, Africa’s industrialization is still at its inception with severely limited existing stock of entrepreneurial talents, which makes it imperative to look to the continent’s bulging youth population – the “population dividend” for the needed supply of successive generations of entrepreneurs. Secondly, sustainable industrialization would have to be oriented to “green”, “ICT” and “inclusive” growth which calls for a change in entrepreneurs’ attitudes. Finally, at the centre of the “Africa Rising” narrative is a budding new “cheetah” generation of young entrepreneurs who are highly educated, professional and motivated by the need to set up new business models and practices to compete in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This volume forms part of an Education for Sustainable Development in Africa (ESDA) book series involving the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability and 8 partner African universities running Master’s Programs in sustainable development. The book series is intended to serve primarily as undergraduate and graduate instruction materials for courses on sustainable development in Africa, as well as policy input to key developmental issues in Africa.