Community based Entrepreneurship Education: A Study of the CATET Program in Nepal (Published)

Community based enterprise can improve the livelihoods of marginalized and low income people in rural Nepal. Most of the labor force in rural communities consist of women contributing low productivity, long working hours and poor working conditions. Appropriate Technology along with entrepreneurship education can be the best means in bringing efficiency and high productivity in their daily business. Appropriate Technology based Entrepreneurship Training for Community development (CATET) developed by NITEC has been very essential tool for the development of such women based communities enterprises in rural Nepal. CATET is an approach in which University jointly works with the communities to solve their entrepreneurial problems. CATET has helped to provide the better understanding of entrepreneurship knowledge for the communities and have involved the academic sector which has contributed on developing appropriate technologies and providing essential business knowledge. CATET not only helped to develop new enterprises but also assisted the existing enterprises. Initial results are very encouraging so the joint collaboration of government, academia and community working together can make this model far more functional.  

Keywords: : Enterprises, Appropriate Technology, CATET, Education

The Regent Business Schools New Entrepreneurial Centre: Towards Transforming South Africa’s Past and Reformulating the Present (Published)

The paper looks at entrepreneurship in terms of its importance to South Africa. In this regard it discusses the importance of initiatives like the Regent Business Schools proposed new Entrepreneurial Centre which will be opened in the latter part of 2016. A brief historical perspective is undertaken in this regard, in order to firstly situate the thrust, importance and necessity of the entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial dynamic, as it relates to a democratic South Africa. This is undertaken within the context of development and leadership in South Africa. The importance of entrepreneurship cannot be under estimated, in terms of development and economic growth in South Africa for purposes of stimulating much needed small business development and, the empowerment of the masses of people neglected by the administrative government systems by both, the apartheid and democratic government, post 1994. In undertaking the discussion in this paper, the issues towards transforming South Africa’s past and transforming the present assumes significance, in terms of the transformation agenda of the state. In addition the paper very briefly discusses development theories, and calls for a reformulation of these theories in order, to engineer sustained and coordinated development within developing countries. The paper outlines the strategic plan for the Regent Business Schools Centre for Entrepreneurship and its modalities for engagement for purposes of consolidating this important and necessary initiative. By the same token, the paper discusses very briefly the problems that higher education confronts in respect to access into higher education in South Africa and, therefore, posits that entrepreneurial training and development can assist in solving some problems that the country confronts, in terms of access to higher education and entrepreneurial development.    

Keywords: Business, Economy, Education, Entrepreneurship, Reformulating, Transforming

Determinants of Entrepreneurial Intention: Selected Kenyan Universities Service Sector Perspective. (Published)

Entrepreneurial intention has captured the attention of both academicians and policy makers during the last century. Unemployment poses a major challenge to developing nations Kenya inclusive where governments’ lacked sufficient resources to  passing out of young graduates with immediate employment. However, many studies on entrepreneurial intention among graduates have focused mainly on developed countries and less on developing nations like Kenya perspective. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to bridge the gap by investigating the determinants of entrepreneurial intention among business undergraduate students. The specific objectives were to establish the effect of education, social network, innovativeness and self-efficacy on entrepreneurial intention. The study was guided by Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior that views behavioral intent as an immediate determinant of planned behavior. Explanatory research design was adopted and the study targeted 1,649 undergraduate business students drawn from Moi, Mount Kenya and Catholic universities in Uasin Gishu County. Stratified sampling was used to select a sample size of 321. The results indicated that innovativeness among students was highly and positively correlated to entrepreneurial intention at (r=0.650). Self efficacy was the second characteristic among students to positively associated with entrepreneurial intention (r = 0.618), education had significant and positively correlated with entrepreneurial intention (r=0.564). Finally, social network showed a positive and significant relationship with entrepreneurial intention (r = 0.507). From the findings it showed that all the four variables were positively correlated to entrepreneurial intention at 0.05 level of significance level. The study findings were of have valuable assistance to develop students’ entrepreneurial skills and knowledge which equip graduates with creativity, innovation, risk-taking and ability to interpret successful entrepreneurial effect models and identification of business opportunities for the future.

Keywords: Education, Innovativeness and Self-efficacy, Social Networks, entrepreneurial intention

Evolution and Growth of Pakistani-Owned Smes in the Area of Bedfordshire London (Published)

This paper was aimed to investigate those factors which had played an important role in strategic evolution and growth of Pakistani-owned SMEs in the area of Bedfordshire London. The objective was to discover some facts and figures about business experiences of these firms and make the finding a source of learning and development for other similar enterprises in the UK. The target population (sampling frame) was comprised over 42 firms qualifying criterion of SMEs. While applying purposive (judgement) sampling approach, a representative sample of 7 firms (out of 42 firms) with 18 respondents performing at managerial level was selected to conduct in-depth interviews. A case-based empirical investigation conducted around selected group of companies revealed that a number of factors including families and friends, qualification and experience, well thought-out business decisions, clarity of goals and objectives and dual socialization of entrepreneurs while living and working in Pakistan and the UK had played an important role in strategic evolution and growth of these companies. Analysis of the data confirms the vital importance of these factors in laying a sound foundation of these businesses to evolve and flourish in the UK’s highly competitive business environment. The findings of the study are expected to provide some practical lessons to newly built Pakistani-owned enterprises in the UK in developing and strengthening their businesses to survive, grow and succeed in the market.

Keywords: Dual socialization, EMBs, Education, Experience, Pakistan, SMEs, UK