Author(s): Mary Mutanda, Lawrence Mpele Lekhanya, Sibusiso Moyo
Considering high unemployment rate in south Africa currently sitting at 29,1%, it cannot be over-emphasized that the general perception in South Africa is that entrepreneurship and small business development are the gateway to the alleviation of high unemployment rates in the country. Entrepreneurial literacy which is concerned with providing the attitudes, skills and knowledge to enhance a person’s capability to detect an opportunity and to make it grow in a sustainable way, should take center stage amongst many other skills development opportunities in society. With this notion in mind, universities as representatives of social change are expected to lead the entrepreneurial education initiative all round. This study looks at the role of tertiary institutions in the enhancement of entrepreneurial literacy in South Africa. It also evaluates the status of entrepreneurial literacy among South Africans, their entrepreneurial attitude, characteristics and importance of entrepreneurial literacy and factors contributing to entrepreneurial literacy in South Africa. A mixed method approach was employed in this study. Data was collected from selected communities in Kwazulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The results indicate that there is a small percentage of those who have relevant business training and knowledge. The study further reveals that there is lack of knowledge and experience with regard to business related abilities such as business promotional strategies, financial management skills and business compliance requirements. The general findings are that, South African tertiary institutions have no clear, standard strategy in place on how they are working with communities on fostering entrepreneurial literacy development. There is lack of dedicated policies on driving entrepreneurial literacy from tertiary institutions as well as the government.