Explore the evidence.
Understand the reach.

The aim of this paper was to analyse social entrepreneurs as the proponents towards achieving LED and ensuring the reduction of poverty and community empowerment. The emergence of social entrepreneurship in South Africa could improve LED, addressing imperative conundrums such as poverty, unemployment and inequality. The argument of this paper is that social entrepreneurs through their unique business models may play a critical role in ensuring a comprehensive LED, which could be sustainable to alleviate poverty and ensure community empowerment. The significance of social entrepreneurship cannot be circumvented in a country characterized by socio-economic ills, wherein people’s living standards continue to deteriorate. Thus, the capacity of both government and private sector remains questionable because of the perpetual challenges that ordinary people endure on the ground. Social entrepreneurs may help to rejuvenate underserved communities, especially in rural and township regions. The paper emphasized on how social enterprises foster inclusive development by generating employment, improving access to education, healthcare and financial services and uplifting historically marginalized groups like women and youth. This is a conceptual paper that adopted a literature-based methodology to fulfil its aim. It relied on secondary data sources to critique social entrepreneurship as a proponent for LED. The paper revealed that social entrepreneurs continue to play a significant role in improving the lives of the destitute both in rural and township areas. This paper underscored the need to have a proliferation of social entrepreneurs to resuscitate local economic hubs in South African rural and township areas. It concludes that for a comprehensive LED to take place, social entrepreneurs should be the paragons of LED.

Entrepreneurship has become a vital force for economic development and innovation in the 21st century. Higher education institutions are pivotal in preparing students to succeed in this dynamic landscape by nurturing entrepreneurial skills and mindsets. This systematically reviewed the 23 empirical studies from databases between 2014 and 2024 to explore the imperative role of higher education in fostering entrepreneurship. It examines the evolving demands of the global economy, emphasising the need for individuals equipped with the creativity, resilience, and adaptability characteristic of successful entrepreneurs. The research findings highlight the pivotal role of higher education in fostering entrepreneurial skills and mindsets. Key findings include adopting interdisciplinary curriculum design and integrating business, technology, and creative fields to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of entrepreneurship. The findings reveal that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are critical in promoting entrepreneurial skills and mindsets. They can achieve this by driving entrepreneurial growth, providing practical learning opportunities, promoting cross-disciplinary and collaborative learning, and addressing challenges in entrepreneurship education. To fully realise this potential, a comprehensive approach is needed, including changes to the curriculum, development of academics, institutional support, and community involvement. This will enable HEIs to produce competent, knowledgeable graduates who drive innovation and economic development. Experiential learning opportunities such as internships and startup incubators significantly nurture entrepreneurial mindsets by offering real-world experiences and enhancing problem-solving skills. The study emphasises the importance of entrepreneurial ecosystems within higher education institutions, promoting collaboration and innovation through partnerships with various stakeholders.

This paper investigates the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility, talent development, and performance in youth-led entrepreneurial firms operating in South Africa, where youth unemployment levels are high. It acknowledges that Corporate Social Responsibility plays a part in talent development and influencing the performance of an organization which is not well developed in young entrepreneurship. Through bibliometric analysis, the paper depicts the landscape of current knowledge and research trends to key themes, main authors and collaborative networks. Findings show that there is an emerging wake-up call to Corporate Social Responsibility as a strategic drive for the development of human capital and enhancing performance in youth-led companies, with notable gaps both conceptually and empirically on the institutional context of South African youth-owned businesses. This paper recommends that there should be more investment in culture-specific, evidence-based research and greater incorporation of Corporate Social Responsibility into programmes for youth talent development. By linking Corporate Social Responsibility to targeted talent development, long-term performance outcomes can be enhanced, and inclusive entrepreneurial growth for youth may be reinforced as a broad-based strategy for job creation, innovation, and sustainable economic development.

Entrepreneurship is increasingly recognised as a critical driver of economic growth, innovation, and graduate employability in the global knowledge economy. While entrepreneurship education has traditionally been located within business and management disciplines, limited attention has been paid to the pedagogical role of English methodology in cultivating entrepreneurial skills and mindsets in higher education. This study addresses this gap by systematically reviewing empirical literature published between 2014 and 2025 to examine how English teaching methodologies contribute to the development of entrepreneurial competencies among university students. Guided by human capital theory, social learning theory, and the theory of planned behaviour, the study synthesises evidence from peer-reviewed studies across diverse higher education contexts. The findings indicate that learner-centred, communicative, and experiential English pedagogies play a significant role in fostering key entrepreneurial attributes, including creativity, critical thinking, opportunity recognition, collaboration, adaptability, and persuasive communication. Approaches such as project-based learning, academic literacy instruction, digital storytelling, debate, and pitching tasks are shown to bridge linguistic competence with entrepreneurial agency by enabling students to apply language skills in authentic, problem-oriented contexts. Furthermore, English methodology emerges as a transversal pedagogical platform that supports interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation across academic fields. The study concludes that integrating entrepreneurship-oriented English methodologies into higher education curricula is not supplementary but essential for preparing graduates to navigate complex labour markets and entrepreneurial ecosystems. The article offers practical implications for curriculum design, academic development, and institutional policy, positioning English methodology as a strategic contributor to entrepreneurship education and socio-economic development.

Focusing on the challenges faced by entrepreneurship educators in South Africa, we employed a qualitative research approach.  The aim was to offer valuable insights that are applicable to similar educational settings and contribute to the broader discourse on entrepreneurship education. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews from a purposive sample of seven entrepreneurship educators in South Africa. The qualitative data collected for this study was analysed using thematic analysis with the support of ATLAS.ti version 24. The research reveals that educators encounter challenges in keeping the curriculum current due to changes in technology, market trends, and the rapidly evolving business environment. The findings also indicated that one semester was insufficient for educators to cover all the theoretical and practical aspects of entrepreneurship. Additionally, student engagement posed a challenge for educators as students showed more interest in pursuing formal employment rather than starting their own businesses. Interdisciplinary collaboration, lack of local case studies, networking and industry connections, resource constraints, and short-term teaching contracts were also identified as some of the challenges faced by entrepreneurship educators in universities. The practical implications suggest a need to promote entrepreneurship by implementing initiatives such as workshops and mentorship programs with successful entrepreneurs. The research fills a gap in the existing literature, as there is a limited understanding of the specific challenges faced by entrepreneurship educators.

This study examines the role of the Economic Activation Office (EAO) in advancing entrepreneurship within a rural higher education institution in South Africa. The study is informed by Entrepreneurial University Theory, the Triple Helix Model, and the Resource-Based View (RBV), which are integrated to explain how institutional orientation, ecosystem collaboration, and resource mobilisation jointly shape entrepreneurship support. A qualitative exploratory design was adopted within an interpretivist paradigm. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 purposively selected participants comprising EAO staff, university entrepreneurship practitioners, and student entrepreneurs. Thematic analysis identified four interconnected roles of the EAO: entrepreneurship awareness creation, capacity and skills development, stakeholder collaboration and ecosystem coordination, and institutional support and resource mobilisation. The findings show that the EAO operates not only as an administrative support office but also as a boundary-spanning mechanism that connects students and university resources with external entrepreneurial opportunities. However, limited funding, incubation infrastructure, long-term mentorship, and uneven cross-faculty participation constrain its ability to translate awareness and capability development into sustained entrepreneurial outcomes. The study contributes a rural EAO ecosystem perspective in which awareness and capability development are strengthened by institutional resources and external ecosystem relationships, while rural structural conditions moderate the effectiveness of these mechanisms. The study recommends dedicated institutional funding, cross-faculty integration, formalised ecosystem partnerships, structured incubation and post-training support, and targeted policy measures for rural universities.

Entrepreneurship Education (EE) is increasingly recognised as a key driver of economic growth, employment creation, and poverty reduction across African countries. It also contributes to the development of digital competencies that support entrepreneurial innovation, highlighting the importance of human capital development in an evolving business environment. Recent technological advancements have transformed business operations, with the integration of digital technologies into entrepreneurial activities reshaping traditional business models, processes, and strategies. Consequently, digital entrepreneurship has emerged as an important socioeconomic force, creating a growing need for education, training, and skills development to strengthen the digital capabilities required for entrepreneurial innovation. This study examines the influence of Entrepreneurship Education on the development of entrepreneurial innovation through a systematic literature review. Relevant studies published between 2016 and 2026 were retrieved from databases including Scopus and Google Scholar. Of the 230 articles identified, 17 met the inclusion criteria and were selected for review. The findings indicate that student support, access to appropriate technological infrastructure, students’ and teachers’ perceptions of technology’s usefulness, and the nature of the tasks undertaken are important factors shaping the integration of technology into contemporary entrepreneurial activities. These findings have implications for promoting entrepreneurial innovation through human capital development in South Africa. The study therefore seeks to inform educators and policymakers about the contribution of Entrepreneurship Education to the development of digital competencies and the advancement of innovative entrepreneurial practices.                                                                        

Women entrepreneurs in South Africa continue to encounter financial, institutional, geographical, and gender constraints that hinder business growth. This research explores how these interrelated constraints affect women’s entrepreneurial perspectives and the engagement in the small- and medium-sized enterprise sector. Using an interpretivist qualitative method, data were gathered using an open-ended digital survey with 25 women entrepreneurs operating in various South African settings, reinforced by an analysis of pertinent policy and entrepreneurship-related papers. Thematic analysis identified six interconnected themes: financial exclusion and gendered power; gender norms and patriarchal expectations; geographic marginalisation; network and institutional exclusion; intersectional disadvantage; and resilience and survival-focused strategies. Findings show that women embrace adaptive practices such as personal savings, informal finance and diversification, which allow businesses survival but do not always promote sustained success. These barriers limit access to capital, markets, networks, facilities, and value chains, reducing job growth and business competitiveness. Reflecting on feminist economics, decolonial feminism, and intersectionality, the paper contends that women’s entrepreneurship needs to be regarded as a systemic and structural challenge, instead of a single resilience challenge. The research recommends coordinated, gender-responsive actions that promote accessibility to financing, markets, infrastructure, networks and supportive institutions.

Mobile technology is increasingly prevalent in urban regions of South Africa; nevertheless, there is a scarcity of empirical data evaluating the use and integration of such technologies by small-scale enterprises in KwaZulu-Natal. This research investigates the influence of mobile technology on the efficacy of mobile entrepreneurs within small-scale companies in KwaZulu-Natal. It aims to assess how the integration of mobile technologies influences corporate expansion, competitive edge, and the ability to satisfy market requirements. The research locale encompasses Durban, PMB, Port Shepstone, and Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal. The research utilised a quantitative methodology, surveying 384 mobile entrepreneurs affiliated with SEDA in the SMME sector in KwaZulu-Natal. A systematic closed-ended Likert scale questionnaire was used as the main tool for data collection. The analysis of data was conducted with SPSS version 29.0. The results of this research indicate that mobile technologies are perceived as significantly impactful in fostering business expansion, efficiency, and adaptability among mobile entrepreneurs in KwaZulu-Natal. This research determines that mobile technologies significantly contribute to the performance of mobile entrepreneurs in the small-scale industries of KZN. The research will enhance the understanding of mobile entrepreneurship inside small-scale enterprises. Policymakers and entrepreneurs can get advantages by comprehending the influence of mobile technologies on mobile entrepreneurship performance and their impact on business expansion, competitiveness, and market demand fulfilment

Social entrepreneurship has arisen as a pivotal mechanism for tackling intricate societal issues while fostering sustainable growth. This study examines the crucial function of social entrepreneurs in promoting inclusive growth, environmental sustainability, and community empowerment. Social businesses merge creative business models with social objectives, effectively reconciling profit and purpose while providing scalable solutions to challenges like poverty, inequality, and climate change. The research investigates the processes by which social entrepreneurship advances social development in South Africa, emphasising case studies from various industries and locations. It also examines the facilitating environments—policy frameworks, financial tools, and educational initiatives—that promote the development of social companies. The findings highlight the capacity of social entrepreneurship to initiate systemic change, underscoring its importance in fostering resilient and equitable communities. This research enhances the dialogue on sustainable development by framing social entrepreneurship as not only a corporate strategy but also a crucial catalyst for enduring social impact.