This study was carried out to evaluate the impact of entrepreneurship on the socio-economic development of the Zimbabwean economy with the aim to have an insight on whether it is a policy for socio-economic reform or a gimmick to sale the nation’s brand to the world. The study was carried over five months in five different entrepreneurial organisations. Face-to-face interviews and documentary analysis were used to gather data. The study found that entrepreneurship indeed, create wealth and employment for the majority of Zimbabweans. It was noted that entrepreneurship was contributing to economic growth, through paying taxes to the government and creating employment in comparison to mere branding of the nation. All the participants indicated that recapitalisation of their businesses was a major concern since there were no lines of credit from the local banks and financial institutions justifying that the Entrepreneurship drive in Zimbabwe is real but not a smoke screen for national branding. They also bemoaned restrictive investment policies and legislation in the country. It was also found that the Government was not supporting the growth of entrepreneurial organisations which to some extent reflects the policy the government to be more of self-branding rather than societal empowerment. The study concluded that entrepreneurship is a critical vehicle for creating employment and growing the Zimbabwean economy. The study recommended that financial support, capacity building and enhancement and a supporting legal framework were critical for the formation, survival and growth of entrepreneurial organisations in Zimbabwe.
Chenga, N. (2013). Informal Sector: The major challenge. The Financial Gazette. Available at: www.financialgazezette.co.zw. Accessed on: 07 January 2016.
Chigwenya, A. & Mudzengerere, F.H. (2013). The small and medium enterprises policy in Zimbabwe: a narrative of strides taken to mainstream the informal sector activities in urban local authorities in Zimbabwe. International Journal of Politics and Good Governance, vol 4, No. 4.
Commission of the European Communities (2003). Entrepreneurship in Europe. http://ec.europa.eu/invest-in-research/pdf/download_en/entrepreneurship_europe.pdf.
Delik, A. (2009). Informal sector offer: Peddling, A paper presented at the first Nordic Conference on service design and service innovation, Oslo, 24-24 November 2009.
Goremusandu, K. & Chapeyama, P. (2017). Entrepreneurship effects on Zimbabwe’s economy. https://www.newsday.co.zw/2017/12/entreprenuership-effects-zimbabwes-economy/.
Hall, P. & Pfeifjer, G. (2000). Urban future: A global agenda for the 21st Century cities. E. & F.N. Spon, London.
Hisrich, R.D., Peters, M.P. & Shepherd, D.A. (2007). Entrepreneurship. 6th Edition. Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, New Delhi.
Ikiara, G.K. & Ndung’u N. (1997). The labour market during Adjustment, The case of Kenya, ILO, Geneva.
Jelili, M.O., & Adebibu, A. A. (2006). Land use classification and the informal sector question in Ogbomoso, Nigeria. Journal of Human Ecology, vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 283-285.
Kanyenze, G. & Kondo, T. (2011). Beyond the Enclave: Towards a Pro-Poor and Inclusive Development for Strategy for Zimbabwe: Weaver Press.
Kumar, S., & Liu, D. (2005). Impact of globalization on entrepreneurial enterprises in the world markets. International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development, vol 2 (1) pg 46–64.
Kwaramba, N. (2017). The role and importance of key entrepreneurship development. The Zimbabwe Independent. May 26, 2017.
Moyo, D. (2010). Dead Aid. Why Aid Makes Things Worse and How There is Another Way for Africa. Penguin Books.
Muraya, P.W.K. (2004). Planning and small-scale enterprises in Nairobi Kenya. Habitat International, www.elsevier.com/locate/habitatint.
Nani, G. & Radipere, S. (2016). Shape up or ship out. Experiences of micro and small business entrepreneurs in the Bulawayo Metropolitan Province of Zimbabwe. Investment Management and Financial Innovations, 13(2-1), pg173-183.
Ncube, M. (2000). Employment, unemployment and evolution of labour policy in Zimbabwe, Zambezia, vol. 1, pp. 161-194.
Onyenechere, E.C. (2011). The informal sector and environment in Nigerian Towns: What we know and what we still need to know, Research journal of environment and earth sciences, vol 3, No. 1, pp. 61-69.
Pirich, A. (2001. The interface between entrepreneurship and innovation: New Zealand. SMEs perspective. Paper prepared for 2001 DRU ID Conference, Aalborg, Denmark.
Raimi, L. (2011). "Global economic melt?down and the role of financial institutions: Lessons from South Africa for policymakers in Nigeria", Humanomics, vol. 27, issue 3, pp.201-211, https://doi.org/10.1108/08288661111165231.
Rukmann, D. (2007). Urban planning and the informal sector in developing countries, www.indonesiaurbanstudies.blogspot.com/2007/05/urban-planningandinformalsector.html.
Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (2013). Government of India: Ministry of Science and Technology. New Delhi.
Skinner, C., (2009). Challenging City/imaginaries: Street traders’ struggle in Warwick Junction, Agenda. Special Issue on Gender and Poverty Reduction, vol. 81.
Thompson, J. (2010). Entrepreneurship enablers’-Their unsung and unquantified role in competitiveness and regeneration http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1080/02690940903545406.
Zimmerer, T.W. & Searborough, N.M. (2006). Essentials of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management 4th Edition. Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi.
Zvavahera, P. (2014). An evaluation of the effectiveness of performance management systems o
In-Text Citation: (Zvavahera, Chigora, & Tandi, 2018)
To Cite this Article: Zvavahera, P., Chigora, F., & Tandi, R. (2018). Entrepreneurship: An Engine for Economic Growth. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(11), 55–66.
Copyright: © 2018 The Author(s)
Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
