Graduate Entrepreneurial Intention in South Africa: Motivations and Obstacles

This study investigates the entrepreneurial intention of South African graduates as well as the motivators andobstacles to entrepreneurial intention. 701 students in their final year of study participated in the survey and datawas collected through self-administered questionnaires. The principal component analysis, T-test and descriptivestatistics were used for data analysis. The results indicate that the entrepreneurial intention of South Africanstudents is very weak. In addition, the study identified five motivators of entrepreneurial intention. These areemployment, autonomy, creativity, economic and capital. The obstacles to entrepreneurial intention of SouthAfrican graduates are capital, skill, support, risk, economy and crime. Recommendations to reduce the obstaclesto graduate entrepreneurship are suggested.