Entrepreneurship skills: do all dimensions of skills matter for sustainable business start-up?
Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy
ISSN: 2045-2101
Article publication date: 31 October 2023
Issue publication date: 9 February 2024
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to establish whether all the dimensions of entrepreneurship skills matter for sustainable business start-up among the youths, using evidence from a developing economy.
Design/methodology/approach
This was cross-sectional study which utilized a quantitative approach. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire from 254 youths who undertook skills training at the various government-supported business skills training centers in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area (GKMA), that is to say, Kampala, Mukono and Wakiso. Data collected were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to derive descriptive, correlational and hierarchical regression.
Findings
Study findings indicate that unlike entrepreneurial skills, management, technical and personal maturity skills matter for the sustainability of business start-up of youths in Uganda. However, when all skills are compared, management skills matter most as compared to technical and personal maturity skills.
Originality/value
This study strengthens the existing literature on the sustainable business start-up of youths in Uganda. It is also relevant for policy decision-making and policy reversal because it demonstrates that skilling is pertinent and should be encouraged and rolled out across the country to encourage sustainable youth business start-ups. To increase sustainable business start-up among youths, management skills should be prioritized, together with technical and personal maturity skills, compared to entrepreneurial skills, which should only be emphasized at the idea generation, planning, resource mobilization and business implementation stages.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors express their gratitude to the Management of Makerere University Research and Innovation Fund and the Ugandan government for providing financial support in conducting the study that served as the basis for this work. The authors also extend their appreciation to the anonymous reviewers.
Citation
Tibaingana, A., Sendawula, K., Buyinza, F., Kimuli, S.N.L., Ssemuyaga, E., Tumusiime, C., Mulongo, R. and Atukwasa, R. (2024), "Entrepreneurship skills: do all dimensions of skills matter for sustainable business start-up?", Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEPP-03-2023-0021
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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