Social entrepreneurs’ learning experience in South African incubators

ABSTRACT

Africa’s strong entrepreneurial spirit and desire for social change has led to growth in social entrepreneurship and incubation throughout the continent. However, there is a limited understanding of how entrepreneurial learning occurs during incubation. This study explored social entrepreneurs’ learning experience in South African incubators. A phenomenological methodology provided a deeper understanding of their lived experience. The findings show that during incubation, social entrepreneurs learn business and entrepreneurship concepts from champions and use this knowledge to transform themselves and their businesses. However, the unique needs of social entrepreneurs are not being met; they are not taught social enterprise specific concepts, not connected to those in the public or social sectors, and are pushed to prioritize profit motives over their social mission. The findings help incubators create a more supportive learning environment for social entrepreneurs through focused content, expanded network embeddedness, and recognition of the importance of social values.

KEYWORDS:

• social entrepreneurship
• incubators
• learning
• South Africa

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Aleia Bucci

Aleia Bucci is a researcher through the University of Pretoria's Gordon Institute of Business Science. Her research focuses on social entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial learning, and incubation programs. She has worked as a practitioner in various roles across the entrepreneurial ecosystem and is currently co-founder of a startup.

Jonathan Marks

Jonathan Marks is a professor at the University of Pretoria's Gordon Institute of Business Science in the entrepreneurship and innovation domain. His primary areas of research are high-growth entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial learning and education, and entrepreneurial finance. He is an innovative and award-winning educator, started and exited a number of high-growth start-up ventures, and a founding director of the Ackerman Academy of Entrepreneurship at the University of Cape Town.