JoSTE

Article Details

Vol. 7 No. 3 (2026): March

Unemployed Graduates: Entrepreneurship Education Influences Entrepreneurial Intentions in Zimbabwe

https://doi.org/10.35912/joste.v7i3.3204

Abstract

Purpose: Given the high unemployment rate, this study investigates the empirical significance of Entrepreneurship Education (EE) in shaping the entrepreneurial intentions of Zimbabwean graduates, addressing a critical policy gap regarding the efficacy of the local EE curriculum.

Research Methodology: The interpretivist philosophy served as the foundation for collecting qualitative data using a descriptive multi-case study method, along with thematic analysis techniques in the Midlands Province. A total of 20 participants, selected through purposeful and snowball sampling, took part in face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions.

Results: The findings show that exposure to entrepreneurship education plays a significant and positive role in boosting graduates' ambitions and inclination towards self-employment. EE content, particularly when focused on opportunity identification and skill leveraging, acted as a catalytic agent, encouraging graduates to re-evaluate and pursue entrepreneurial paths based on their existing vocational and general skills.

Conclusions: This study conclusively demonstrates that entrepreneurship education significantly influences and boosts the entrepreneurial intentions and self-employment inclination of unemployed graduates in Zimbabwe by enabling them to leverage their existing skills. This suggests that a well-designed EE curriculum can be a powerful, proactive policy tool for shifting graduates’ career mindsets.

Limitations: Qualitative data from one university and polytechnic in Gweru restrict generalizability to other Zimbabwean cities or institutions.

Contributions: To combat graduate unemployment, this study provides a framework for Zimbabwean officials to strengthen the national entrepreneurship curriculum. The study highlights the necessity of prioritising hands-on experience and opportunity recognition over theoretical learning, thereby contributing to the broader goal of fostering a sustainable, local entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Keywords

Entrepreneurship Education Entrepreneurial Intention Graduates Opportunities Self-Employment

How to Cite

Mabhanda, W., & Mawonendzo, A. C. (2026). Unemployed Graduates: Entrepreneurship Education Influences Entrepreneurial Intentions in Zimbabwe. Journal of Sustainable Tourism and Entrepreneurship, 7(3), 247–259. https://doi.org/10.35912/joste.v7i3.3204

Download Citation

Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS) BibTeX

References

  1. Adeyanju, D., Mburu, J., & Mignouna, D. (2021). Youth agricultural entrepreneurship: Assessing the impact of agricultural training programmes on performance. Sustainability, 13(4), 1697. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041697
  2. Ahmed, T., Chandran, V. G. R., Klobas, J. E., Liñán, F., & Kokkalis, P. (2020). Entrepreneurship education programmes: How learning, inspiration and resources affect intentions for new venture creation in a developing economy. The International Journal of Management Education, 18(1), 100327. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2019.100327
  3. Ajzen, I. (2011). The theory of planned behaviour: Reactions and reflections (Vol. 26, pp. 1113-1127): Taylor & Francis.
  4. Barba-Sánchez, V., & Atienza-Sahuquillo, C. (2018). Entrepreneurial intention among engineering students: The role of entrepreneurship education. European Research on Management and Business Economics, 24(1), 53-61. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iedeen.2017.04.001
  5. Birdthistle, N., Costin, Y., & Hynes, B. (2016). Engendering entrepreneurial competencies in the youth of today: a teacher’s perspective. Education+ Training, 58(7-8), 766-782. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-02-2016-0031
  6. Botiraliyevna, B. K. (2025). Audiovisual techniques in translator education: Pedagogical applications and learning outcomes. Universal Teaching and Learning Journal, 1(2), 171-182. doi:https://doi.org/10.35912/utlj.v1i2.3772
  7. Chimbunde, P., & Brown, B. (2025). Rethinking the Value of Education amid the Economic Crisis: The Experiences of University Graduates. Education Sciences, 15(12), 1661. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15121661
  8. Colombelli, A., Loccisano, S., Panelli, A., Pennisi, O. A. M., & Serraino, F. (2022). Entrepreneurship education: The effects of challenge-based learning on the entrepreneurial mindset of university students. Administrative Sciences, 12(1), 10. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci12010010
  9. Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2024). Qualitative Inquiry and research design: choosing among five approaches: SAGE Publications.
  10. Dao, T. K., Bui, A. T., Doan, T. T. T., Dao, N. T., Le, H. H., & Le, T. T. H. (2021). Impact of academic majors on entrepreneurial intentions of Vietnamese students: An extension of the theory of planned behavior. Heliyon, 7(3). doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06381
  11. Declich, M., Swedlund, H. J., Schut, M., & Muchunguzi, P. (2022). “Stop calling me a youth!”: Understanding and analysing heterogeneity among Ugandan youth Agripreneurs. Africa Spectrum, 57(2), 178-203. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/00020397221105292
  12. Digón-Arroba, M. C., Escolar-Llamazares, M.-C., di Giusto-Valle, C., de la Torre-Cruz, T., Luis-Rico, I., Palmero-Cámara, C., & Jiménez, A. (2025). Education and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial training in secondary education and its impact on entrepreneurial interest in the United States and Spain. Cogent Social Sciences, 11(1), 2539548. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2025.2539548
  13. Dubey, P. (2022). Entrepreneurial Characteristics, Attitude and Self- Employment Intention: A Study of Public and Private Technical Institutes' Undergraduates. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 24(1), 21-30. doi:https://doi.org/10.9790/487X-2401042130
  14. Ebewo, P. (2021). Effects of entrepreneurship education on students’ entrepreneurial intentions: A case of Botswana. Management Studies, 5(4), 278-289 doi:https://doi.org/10.17265/2328-2185/2017.04.002
  15. Fauzi, R. U. A. (2021). The influence of business plan competition and loan provision on nurturing the spirit of entrepreneurship among students. Paper presented at the Conference on International Issues in Business and Economics Research (CIIBER 2019).
  16. Fems, K. M. (2020). Entrepreneurship Education in Nigeria Tertiary Institutions and its Impact on Students’ Entrepreneurial Career Intentions. A Study of Students at Federal Polytechnic Ekowe. Open Science Journal, 5(4). doi:https://doi.org/10.23954/osj.v5i4.1112
  17. Huang, Y., An, L., Wang, J., Chen, Y., Wang, S., & Wang, P. (2021). The role of entrepreneurship policy in college students’ entrepreneurial intention: the intermediary role of entrepreneurial practice and entrepreneurial spirit. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 585698. doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.585698
  18. Jena, R. K. (2020). Measuring the impact of business management Student's attitude towards entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intention: A case study. Computers in human behavior, 107, 106275. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106275
  19. Kissi, E., Ahadzie, D. K., Debrah, C., & Adjei-Kumi, T. (2020). Underlying strategies for improving entrepreneurial skills development of technical and vocational students in developing countries: using Ghana as a case study. Education+ Training, 62(5), 599-614. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-11-2019-0264
  20. Lingappa, A. K., Shah, A., & Mathew, A. O. (2020). Academic, family, and peer influence on entrepreneurial intention of engineering students. SAGE Open, 10(3), 2158244020933877. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020933877
  21. Liu, M., Gorgievski, M. J., Qi, J., & Paas, F. (2022). Increasing teaching effectiveness in entrepreneurship education: Course characteristics and student needs differences. Learning and Individual Differences, 96(1), 102147. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2022.102147
  22. Mabhanda, W., Mabwe, N., & Mashiri, B. (2024). Green Entrepreneurship Education in Zimbabwe Fostering Long-Term Sustainable Development in Africa: Overcoming Poverty, Inequality, and Unemployment (pp. 95-119): Springer.
  23. Magagula, B., & Tsvakirai, C. Z. (2020). Youth perceptions of agriculture: influence of cognitive processes on participation in agripreneurship. Development in practice, 30(2), 234-243. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2019.1670138
  24. Mahmoud, M. A., Garba, A. S., Abdullah, Y. A., & Ali, A. I. (2020). Assessment of entrepreneurship education on the relationship between attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and entrepreneurial intention. International Journal of Business and Technopreneurship, 10(2), 197-210.
  25. Malebana, M. J. (2021). The effect of entrepreneurial motivation on entrepreneurial intention of South African rural youth. Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal, 27(3), 1-14.
  26. Martins, J. M., Shahzad, M. F., & Xu, S. (2023). Factors influencing entrepreneurial intention to initiate new ventures: Evidence from university students. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 12(1), 63. doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-023-00333-9
  27. Matsheke, O., & Dhurup, M. (2017). Entrepreneurial-related programmes and students’ intentions to venture into new business creation: finding synergy of constructs in a University of Technology. Science, Technology and Society, 22(2), 259-283. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0971721817702287
  28. Mawonedzo, A., Tanga, M., Luggya, S., & Nsubuga, Y. (2020). Implementing strategies of entrepreneurship education in Zimbabwe. Education+ Training, 63(1), 85-100. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-03-2020-0068
  29. Mothibi, N. H., & Malebana, M. J. (2019). Determinants of entrepreneurial intentions of secondary school learners in Mamelodi, South Africa. Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal, 25(2), 1-14.
  30. Nabi, G., Walmsley, A., Liñán, F., Akhtar, I., & Neame, C. (2018). Does entrepreneurship education in the first year of higher education develop entrepreneurial intentions? The role of learning and inspiration. Studies in higher education, 43(3), 452-467. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2016.1177716
  31. Naminse, E. Y., & Zhuang, J. (2018). Does farmer entrepreneurship alleviate rural poverty in China? Evidence from Guangxi Province. PloS one, 13(3), e0194912. doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194912
  32. Ndofirepi, T. M., & Rambe, P. (2018). A qualitative approach to the entrepreneurial education and intentions nexus: A case of Zimbabwean polytechnic students. The Southern African Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, 10(1), 1-14. doi:https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC-135187f416
  33. Nowell, L. S., Norris, J. M., White, D. E., & Moules, N. J. (2017). Thematic analysis: Striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria. International journal of qualitative methods, 16(1), 1-13. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847
  34. Nwibe, K. J., & Ogbuanya, T. C. (2024). Emotional intelligence and entrepreneurial intention among university undergraduates in Nigeria: Exploring the mediating roles of self-efficacy domains. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 13(1), 13. doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-024-00367-7
  35. Ortuno-Sierra, J., Gargallo Ibort, E., Ciarreta Lopez, A., & Dalmau Torres, J. M. (2021). Measuring entrepreneurship in adolescents at school: New psychometric evidence on the BEPE-A. PloS one, 16(4), 1-13. doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250237
  36. Otache, I. (2019). Entrepreneurship education and undergraduate students’ self-and paid-employment intentions: A conceptual framework. Education+ Training, 61(1), 46-64. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-10-2017-0148
  37. Ouko, K. O., Ogola, J. R. O., Ng’on’ga, C. A., & Wairimu, J. R. (2022). Youth involvement in agripreneurship as Nexus for poverty reduction and rural employment in Kenya. Cogent Social Sciences, 8(1), 1-20. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2022.2078527
  38. Puni, A., Anlesinya, A., & Korsorku, P. D. A. (2018). Entrepreneurial education, self-efficacy and intentions in Sub-Saharan Africa. African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, 9(4), 492-511. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/AJEMS-09-2017-0211
  39. Rankhumise, E., Letsoalo, M., & Nguza-Mduba, B. (2020). Entrepreneurship Education's Curriculum Delivery at Two South African Universities: Students' Perspective. Journal of Entrepreneurship Education, 23, 1-16.
  40. Salisu, J. B. (2020). Entrepreneurial training effectiveness, government entrepreneurial supports and venturing of TVET students into IT related entrepreneurship–An indirect-path effects analysis. Heliyon, 6(11). doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05504
  41. Sampene, A. K., Li, C., Khan, A., Agyeman, F. O., & Opoku, R. K. (2023). Yes! I want to be an entrepreneur: A study on university students’ entrepreneurship intentions through the theory of planned behavior. Current Psychology, 42(25), 21578-21596. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03161-4
  42. Soomro, B. A., Lakhan, G. R., Mangi, S., & Shah, N. (2020). Predicting entrepreneurial intention among business students of public sector universities of Pakistan: an application of the entrepreneurial event model. World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 16(3), 219-230. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/WJEMSD-11-2019-0092
  43. Sriarianie, S., Nasikh, N., & Hermawan, A. (2024). The Influence of The Effectiveness of Entrepreneurship Education and Soft Skills on Entrepreneurial Intentions Through the Skills Provision Program on High School Students in Pasuruan District. Journal of Applied Business, Taxation and Economics Research, 3(3), 271-281. doi:https://doi.org/10.54408/jabter.v3i3.266
  44. Surjanti, R. L. P. N. S., Mulyantomo, E., Triyani, D., & Kurniawati, E. (2025). Improving MSME perfomance through competences and entrepreneurial characteristics. Annals of Human Resource Management Research, 5(4), 171-185. doi:https://doi.org/10.35912/ahrmr.v5i4.3285
  45. Tarling, C., Jones, P., & Murphy, L. (2016). Influence of early exposure to family business experience on developing entrepreneurs. Education+ Training, 58(7-8), 733-750. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-03-2016-0050
  46. Thomas, O., & Wulf, T. (2019). Entrepreneurship education and the intention to start a business: the moderating role of cognitive biases. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, 11(5), 413-439. doi:https://doi.org/10.1504/IJEV.2019.102260
  47. Tiberius, V., Weyland, M., & Mahto, R. V. (2023). Best of entrepreneurship education? A curriculum analysis of the highest-ranking entrepreneurship MBA programs. The International Journal of Management Education, 21(1), 100753. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2022.100753
  48. Vinogradova, N., Novac, A., Jáki, E., & Aranyossy, M. (2023). The impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intentions and competencies of students in Moldova. Society and Economy, 45(1), 33-52. doi:https://doi.org/10.1556/204.2022.00026
  49. Widana, I. D. K. K., Susanto, P. C., Sadipung, T. O., & Pujiati, H. (2025). Determining lecturer performance: Analysis of competence, motivation, and self-efficacy through remuneration. Annals of Human Resource Management Research, 5(2), 285-299. doi:https://doi.org/10.35912/ahrmr.v5i2.2919
  50. Xu, F., Kellermanns, F. W., Jin, L., & Xi, J. (2020). Family support as social exchange in entrepreneurship: Its moderating impact on entrepreneurial stressors-well-being relationships. Journal of Business Research, 120, 59-73. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.07.033
  51. ZIMSTATS. (2022). Women and Men in Zimbabwe Report. Retrieved from Harare, Zimbabwe:

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Authors

1 . Wilson Mabhanda
Midlands State University, Gweru, Zimbabwe
2 . Abigail Choto Mawonendzo
University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe

Downloads

View PDF

Statistics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 3 (2026): March
Section: Articles
WhatsApp Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Email