THE ROLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SMES IN ZIMBABWE
| Autor: | BOMANİ, Mapeto, FİELDS, Ziska, DERERA, Evelyn |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Volume: 11, Issue: 2 1-15 International Journal of Business and Management Studies |
| ISSN: | 1309-8047 |
| Popis: | The role of universities in promoting Small and Medium Enterprise (SME)development has attracted much interest among researchers worldwide. TheseHigher Education Institutions (HEIs) constitute several governments’ grandstrategies of promoting the development of small businesses. The purpose of thispaper is to explore the role of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in promotingthe development of SMEs in Zimbabwe. Interpretivism was adopted as aphilosophy to guide the study. The study adopted a qualitative approach in whichdata collection was conducted through in-depth interviews. Respondents weredrawn from six state universities through convenience and purposive sampling.Data analysis was conducted through content analysis. The results of the studyrevealed that the HEIs are promoting the development of SMEs throughtechnology transfer, workshops on SMEs, short courses for small businesses andproviding consultancy services. Furthermore, HEIs also provide skilled manpowerfor SMEs, and Entrepreneurship courses in the curriculum to create anentrepreneurial spirit among students. The study recommends that sector-specifictraining programmes must be provided for manufacturing, retail and servicessectors. Additionally, the curriculum needs to be reviewed such thatEntrepreneurship becomes a core module in all degree programmes to furtherpromote an entrepreneurship culture among students and produce graduates thathave an entrepreneurial mindset. Incubation centres also need to be established atuniversities to reduce the risk of failure among SMEs. Universities should partnerwith government ministries and the industry to effectively support thedevelopment of SMEs in Zimbabwe. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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