Entrepreneurship education: Enhancing or discouraging graduate start-up at the University of Pretoria

In-depth interviews were conducted with a sample of BCom Entrepreneurship graduates, as well as a control group to determine whether the exposure to entrepreneurship education can enhance actual business start-up. Information was collected on how they experienced the learning approaches, and the value which they had derived from the degree. This was done as a case study at the University of Pretoria. More entrepreneurship graduates started businesses than the control group. Findings of the various constraints to start-up − of the entrepreneurship graduates’ group − focused on the lack of a viable business idea and know-how, as compared with the other graduate groups, who indicated that fear of failure and aversion to taking risks were their main constraints. The entrepreneurship graduates were less risk averse than the control group.