Abstract
Research has shown that the promotion of entrepreneurship in tertiary institutions is now viewed as a seedbed of innovation, employment creation and economic growth. In order to extend the literature on entrepreneurial intentions, this study focuses on the exploration of the nexus of relationship between entrepreneurial intention and entrepreneurs’ personal characteristics in the context of the need for achievement, locus of control, selfconfidence, and risk‐taking propensity among Batswana youth. This study was underpinned by the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Social Cognitive Career Theory, based on a descriptive and explanatory research design among the sampled 520 tertiary students with 500 questionnaires fully complete and returned for further statistical analysis. The major findings of the study indicated that entrepreneurial self ‐efficacy is significantly and positively associated with entrepreneurial intentions; the need for achievement is significantly and positively associated with entrepreneurial intentions, while locus of control and risk‐taking propensity are significantly and positively associated with entrepreneurial intentions. This study had limitations to the extent that it only focused on university students (education sector), whose recommendations may not be generalised to other sectors of the economy. However, the paper offers practical and managerial implications for Botswana policy‐makers by providing a strategic direction and environment that will help facilitate youth empowerment and resourcefulness in an era of environmental munificence and entrepreneurial orientation.