Social entrepreneurship and community development: The case study of Makwane village, Qwaqwa, Free State
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Date
2022
Authors
Mosotoane, Thandeka Patricia
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
Rural communities in South Africa face many challenges that limit their ability to grow
and develop. Among the most significant issues facing communities are
unemployment and poverty (De Beer and Swanepoel, 2016). Despite the numerous
approaches and efforts by government, NGOs, local and international organisation,
achieving community development has been arduous. The high rate of joblessness
and poverty have, impeded social and economic progress. Given the circumstances,
it is vital to develop and carry out creative projects that might offer lasting sustainable
solutions to social problems (Gordon, 2015), there is an urgent need for the design
and implementation of innovative projects that can provide sustainable, long-term
solutions to social problem. Community development is concerned with enhancement in the quality of life and
standard of living of societies. According to Lombard & Strydom (2011), over 60% of
population in South Africa live in rural areas making the country primarily rural. For this
reason, community development initiatives should to be geared towards upgrading the
standard of living of the communities and enabling them to sustain their development.
This understanding helped South African government's focus on the rural
communities. Sadly, despite the community development, efforts have failed to yield
the desired outcome. This status quo as argued by Gordon (2015) has continued to
result in situation in which there is clear mismatch between structures of the
community and the kind of empowerment programmes targeted at them. Social entrepreneurship is a promising method to community development that goes
beyond development assistance. Social Entrepreneurship initiatives are thought to
have the ability to offer, long - term solutions for community development (Lombard
and Strydom, 2011). The concept is one that should be considered as its practice
could contribute positively towards community development in the areas of impact and
sustainability. The primary thrust of this research is to explore social entrepreneurship
as a potential force for community development.
Description
Dissertation (MDS (Development Studies))--University of the Free State, 2022