Author(s): Tawanda Ivern Chinaire, Tendai Chimucheka and Hilda Atemo Khayundi
Social entrepreneurship is increasingly viewed as a social change development, which important for South Africa because of the challenges that the country currently faces. The main objective of this study was to investigate the factors that influence social entrepreneurial intentions of students at a South African University in the Eastern Cape Province. A quantitative research approach and a descriptive research design were adopted for the study. Purposive sampling was used to select respondents. The study revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between the factors researched (empathy, moral obligation, self-efficacy and social support) and students’ social entrepreneurial intention. It is recommended that universities should have structures and systems that can guide students who aspire to be social entrepreneurs. Since social entrepreneurship has proven to be a promising strategy to eradicate some of the social challenges in South Africa, policies should be put in place to help aspiring social entrepreneurs in terms of finances, information, or guidance to ensure these ventures succeed.