An Assessment of Entrepreneurial Intention among University Students in Cameroon

Abstract

In hard times when educated university students cannot find jobs, self-employment and entrepreneurship has been identified as the best solution to the problem of unemployment, underemployment, and poverty reduction amongst the youths. Owing to the persistent unemployment and underemployment amongst the youths in Cameroon, the government introduced entrepreneurship programmes to promote and enhance skills acquisition, ease the spirit of creativity, self-reliance and self-independence. This study examined the determinants of entrepreneurial intention amongst university students in Cameroon, the motivations and obstacles to entrepreneurship among university students in Cameroon and also to find out if there is any significant difference between entrepreneurial intention and selected demographic variables (gender, entrepreneurship education, and family background). The findings indicated that while university students in Cameroon possess a high intention to become entrepreneurs, there are however, predominantly push factors such as unemployment, poverty and job security that force most university students to engage in various forms of entrepreneurship. Also obstacles such are lack of funding, lack of business skills, bribery and corruption, strong competitors, high taxes, and high labour cost were identified as the main obstacles prohibiting university student’s form choosing entrepreneurship as a career choice in Cameroon. Also observed is a significant difference on the level of entrepreneurial intentions based on gender and entrepreneurship education. This study culminates with recommendations on how to enhance the entrepreneurial culture among youths in Cameroon.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p542