Entrepreneurship Education And Business Start-Up: Assessing Entrepreneurial Tendencies Among University Graduates In Tanzania

EXTENDED ABSTRACT 

Graduate unemployment is a long-standing socio-economic problem in Tanzania. Consequently, the government of Tanzania is fostering entrepreneurship programmes in higher education with the assumption that graduates will be empowered in their entry into business. However, few graduates have started their own businesses. The thesis provides reasons for this by measuring entrepreneurial tendencies, assessing determinants of the tendencies, identifying barriers to business start-up and assessing determinants of graduates’ entrepreneurial entry intentions. A cross-sectional research design was employed; 308 graduates were sampled using systematic random sampling. A selfadministered questionnaire which included the General Enterprising Tendencies Test and key informant interviews were applied in gathering information. Quantitative data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences to compute descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-test, binary logistic regression, Pearson chi-square test and Structural Equation Modelling whereby Confirmatory Factor Analysis was performed using Analysis of Moment Structures software. Qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. The findings showed that, generally, university graduates had low entrepreneurial tendencies. Moreover, graduates who studied entrepreneurship had higher entrepreneurial tendencies than their counterparts (p < 0.05). Furthermore, entrepreneurship education, parents’ education level, number of children in a family, parents’ occupation, age and birth order position contributed to predicting entrepreneurial tendencies (p < 0.05). Also, inappropriate teaching methods, lack of business experience, deficiencies in the university programmes, commitments to extended families and bureaucratic tendencies were major barriers to business start-up among university graduates (p < 0.05). Besides, there was a positive association between studying entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial entry intention (p < 0.05). Graduates’ sex, age, birth iii order position and marital status significantly contributed to predicting graduates’ entrepreneurial entry intention (p < 0.05). Universities countrywide should make entrepreneurship training compulsory to all students. Graduates are urged to join forces with their siblings in forming and owning firms to offset their inborn or rearing weaknesses. Regarding lack of business experience, universities should adopt apprenticeship and field attachment approach