Assessing the potential of social entrepreneurship to increase the economic participation of the youth – the case of South Africa

Abstract

This research aimed to assess the potential of social entrepreneurship to contribute in increasing the economic participation of the youth in South Africa. With South Africa experiencing high levels of youth unemployment and characterised by a population “youth bulge”, an economically excluded youth impedes the economic development plans of the country. Therefore all economic sectors in South Africa should be assessed for the potential to increase the economic participation of the youth to aid the delivery of the economic development goals. The research was conducted using a qualitative research methodology as the nature of the research problem lent itself to more descriptive and rich answers. The field of social entrepreneurship is also relatively new and the data available for quantitative analysis is limited.The research found that social entrepreneurship has a potential to increase the economic participation of the youth but is failing to deliver results mainly as a result of legislation not recognising a legal entity for social entrepreneurial activities. The disparities in the definitions of key social entrepreneurship terms, lack of awareness about the sector and the challenges surrounding the sustainability of social enterprises do not render social entrepreneurship as an economic opportunity of choice for the youth.