Abstract
Entrepreneurship is the activity of setting up a business and taking on financial risks with the expectation of profit or financial reward. There are several youth entrepreneurship development (YED) programmes that can assist to transform a small business into a more profitable and competitive business. The aims of the entrepreneurship development programmes are to groom and train individuals into being entrepreneurs or business starters. This study contributes positively to the education and understanding of YED development programmes and effective business management. This study pursues to examine the challenges associated with the YED programmes, with a focus on Soweto township. Interviews were conducted with SME owners and the sampling size was targeted at 150 locally owned SMEs situated in the area of Soweto and have existed for at least three years. The questionnaire was designed in such a way to help achieve the research objectives and provide accurate information. Questions should seek to uncover opinions, behaviours and experiences to eliminate biased or ambiguous responses. An analysis plan and Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient were applied to confirm the validity and reliability of the measuring instruments. Regression and correlation analysis were established to test the relationship between the constructs (variables). An Anova Regression was also conducted to compare the means of two or more independent variables in order to determine whether there was statistical evidence that the associated population means were meaningfully different...
M.Tech. (Operations Management)