Skills needed by the youth to establish social enterprises in underserved communities in Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

The primary goal of social entrepreneurs is to improve overall social well-being by making a significant social impact in developing and transforming economies. Idealistic people like social entrepreneurs strive to change the status quo by identifying innovative solutions to social problems that the market neglects address. This study aimed to answer the following questions: RQ1: What are the factors that hinder the development of skills of the youth for SE in underserved communities? RQ2: How can SE skills be transferred to develop the skills of the youth in underserved communities? This research aims are to explore the factors that influence social entrepreneurial skills of youth in underserved communities. The study was inductive. Data were collected through interviews. An interview guide with semi-structured interview questions was used. Non-randomly, conveniently selected participants were interviewed. Data underwent summarising, categorising and thematic analysis. The research determined an absence of entrepreneurial ability, leadership, presentation, marketing and analytical skills, as well as social intelligence, creativity, innovation and passion. In addition, SE challenges include inadequate support from community members due to poor perception and attitude caused by lack of education and poverty. The contribution of the study is proposed guidelines that can assist in facilitating strategic decision-making related to skills that could help youth in creating opportunities for others and also for their communities. The research found that SEs are attempting to equip the youth with the needed skills, but they do not have enough support from the community and government. Some SEs do have some resources but are limited and cannot cater for the number of youths in need. This then leads to the inevitable cycle of increasing joblessness and crime rates in the communities. Unfortunately, many of the youth do not have adequate schooling and as a result, the normal transfer of skills is unable to occur. It is therefore important that SEs find other ways to transfer the needed skills. The study adhered to strong ethics to ensure that the integrity and moral principles were followed throughout as required by CPUT. Consent was obtained in writing from the companies as well as the research participants.