Abstract:
Entrepreneurship is an essential contributor to innovation and
job-creation; it also plays a key role in economic growth. Cognizant of
its importance, most governments in the world are encouraging
graduates to consider entrepreneurship as an alternative career.
Graduates should have reasonably higher entrepreneurial tendencies if
they are to benefit from various government initiatives towards
entrepreneurship.
Prior
research has not addressed fully
entrepreneurial tendencies of graduates, especially in developing
economies like Tanzania where poverty and graduate unemployment
are high. This paper presents factors influencing Tanzanian
graduates’ entrepreneurial tendencies using the University of Dar-es
salaam as a case in point. A cross-sectional design was employed;
graduates were sampled using systematic random sampling. A semi
structured questionnaire which included the General Enterprising
Tendencies Test was applied in gathering information. Data were
analyzed using descriptive statistics and the binary logistic regression.
Entrepreneurship education, parents’ education and number of
children in a family determine entrepreneurial tendencies of
Tanzanian graduates. Graduates with training in entrepreneurship
and those coming from educated families had greater overall
entrepreneurial characteristics, higher achievement motivation, more
personal control, risk-taking propensity and greater self-esteem than a
comparable cohort. Courses focusing on preparing the future
entrepreneur are highly recommended. Higher learning institutions
countrywide are urged to establish business incubator programmes in
order to tap and develop the entrepreneurial talents at an early stage.
