INSTITUTIONAL DETERMINANTS AND ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSETS OF UNIVERSITY EDUCATED YOUTHS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

The development of entrepreneurial mindsets and engagement, through training and education, has been recognised as one viable way of integrating the youth population into the labour market for economic development. Studies also indicate that institutional contexts provide structural reality and meaning for individual entrepreneurial actions. This chapter draws on institutional theory to explore the formal and informal institutional context in sub-Saharan Africa and its influence on entrepreneurial mindsets and actions among university-educated youth. The chapter argues that the challenges to entrepreneurial activities among the youth in Sub-Saharan Africa is multidimensional. We advocate that integrating the right institutional and supporting ecosystems for entrepreneurial development will provide the catalytic foundation for jumpstarting the development of entrepreneurial mindsets and capacity for entrepreneurial engagement among African youths. The chapter also offers important practical insights where governments can focus on investment and effective policy to improve entrepreneurial capacities and engagement of the youths.