Problem Statement and Purpose
The collapse of service delivery in Phuthaditjhaba, a rural town in the Free State Province South Africa, is a pressing issue that demands immediate attention. Various sectors such as healthcare, waste management, road infrastructure,
human settlement, water sanitation and electricity, have been affected by this breakdown. As a result, the socio-economic challenges are quickly spreading at a faster pace, pressing, and affecting youth. Socio-economic challenges faced by people of Phuthaditjhaba, further threatens society, economy, environment, and
humanity (Tsotetsi and Omodan, 2022). It further creates economic, social, and environmental unrest which hinders the growth and success of individuals, family,
and community. Youth social entrepreneurship is a powerful tool for creating positive change and maximising social impact in communities. By harnessing the creativity, energy, passion, and resilience of young people, pressing social, economic, environmental issues can be addressed and advance public service delivery in a sustainable way. This paper aims to highlight the importance of youth social entrepreneurship as a viable alternative to support and advance traditional public service delivery through directions of community development practice.
Methodology
As young people will determine the future of social entrepreneurship, gaining an in-depth understanding of their engagement is essential. The study aimed to explore the youths' awareness and insights of social entrepreneurship to be able to address Phuthaditjhaba's socio-economic difficulties triggered by poor and/or collapsed public service delivery. Through an adopted exploratory case study and purposive sampling, data was extracted from 13 research participants, consisted of 5 young aspiring social entrepreneurs, 5 active young social entrepreneurs, and 3 youth development supporting institutions. Researchers used a qualitative research method to collect data and used thematic analysis to analyse data.
Findings
The good relationship between young aspiring social entrepreneurs, young active social entrepreneurs and relevant stakeholders in social entrepreneurship can unlock the potential of youth social entrepreneurship to address socio-economic challenges to enhance community development and advancing public service delivery in Phuthaditjhaba, Free State.Social entrepreneurship can inspire young people to take part in initiatives aimed at achieving important societal goals, such as job creation (World Youth Report, 2020). Training in social entrepreneurship has a good and promising impact on the resilience, self-worth of marginalised youth, as well as their entrepreneurial knowledge, abilities, and general self-perceived employability (Tam, Asamoah and Chan, 2021).
Proposals
Firstly, there should be the establishment of continued trust, fostering healthy and impactful long-lasting stakeholder relationships involved in youth social entrepreneurship. Secondly, there should be the formulation of new government regulations that cater youth social enterprises growth to maximise social impact and positive change. Lastly, there should be the establishment of community engagements to raise awareness about the work of youth social enterprises and addressing misconceptions and misunderstandings or concerns and showing the tangible benefits of young social enterprises to the community and public services delivery.
References
Tam, H.L., Asamoah, E. and Chan, A.Y.F. (2021). Developing Social
Entrepreneurship as an Intervention to Enhance Disadvantaged Young
People’s Sense of Self-Worth and Career Competence in Hong Kong. Applied Research in Quality of Life, [online] 16, pp.2497–2526. Available at:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11482-021-09917-7#citeas.
Tsotetsi, C. and Omodan, B.I. (2022). Transforming socio-economic Development in QwaQwa Community of South Africa. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science, [online] 11(3), pp.184–194. Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360292913_Transforming_socio-
economic_development_in_QwaQwa_community_of_South_Africa.
World Youth Report (2020). Youth Social Entrepreneurship and the Agenda 2030: Potential and Challenges. New York: United Nations Publications.
