ENTREPRENEURIAL EDUCATION: A PANACEA TO FORMALISATION OF THE INFORMAL SECTOR

Abstract

This paper sought to evaluate the influence of entrepreneurial education on informal entrepreneur's intention to formalise. A positivist approach was employed backed by quantitative analysis to determine the impact of education on intention to formalise informal businesses. The study analysed a sample of 265 informal traders and a structured questionnaire was used to gather data. Collected data was analysed using parameters such as regression analysis and Pearson correlation analysis. The results indicate that the general level of education is not among enablers of formalisation. However entrepreneurial knowledge, entrepreneurial skills and entrepreneurial attitude were found to be positively correlated with intention to formalise businesses. The study recommends that more focus should be on entrepreneurial education rather than convectional education system so as to enable transition from informal to formal economy. The study therefore brings a new perspective on formalisation of the informal sector.

Keywords

• entrepreneurial education, informal economy, formalisation, entrepreneurship