UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE

FACULTY OF COMMERCE

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS STUDIES

COURSE TITLE: Entrepreneurial Skills Development

Course code: BS424

Lecturer: Dr. S. Sena

Contact hours: 4 hours per week

Course venue: HLT 500, HLT300 and LT 1

Body of knowledge:
Students taking this course will be able to identify business opportunities that match their
personalities (traits), develop business plans, strategies of executing the business plans
and use the most appropriate sources of funding to get started. For students who decide
not to start their own enterprises they will be able to create an environment of innovation
in organisations that employ them and also be able to provide effective consultancy
services to SMEs in need.

Course Purpose: the course seeks to expose students to the theory of entrepreneurship
thereby allowing them to appreciate the importance of being an employer vis-à-vis an
employee.

Course Aim: the course aims at helping students develop an understanding of issues,
possibilities and challenges in the field of entrepreneurship. Students with entrepreneurial
aspirations will also be encouraged to start their own ventures. Students will also be
exposed to the entrepreneurial approach to management thereby complementing the
management course (BS 201 and BS 205).

Course prerequisite: none

Course Objectives: at the end of the course students should be able to

Describe the nature and significance of entrepreneurship
Distinguish between social entrepreneurs, corporate entrepreneurship and
entrepreneurship
Outline the characteristics of entrepreneurship and disprove entrepreneurship
myths
Distinguish and evaluate the paths to entrepreneurship
Prepare and critique business plans
Distinguish and evaluate the different sources of financing for small businesses
Assess the risks facing small businesses and their mitigation
Course Content: to achieve the above objectives the course will cover the following
areas:

ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Definition of entrepreneurship
Elements of entrepreneurship
The entrepreneurial process
Characteristics of entrepreneurs
Common myths about entrepreneurship
Types of entrepreneurship- social, corporate (intrapreneurship) and profit

ENTREPRENEURIAL ENVIRONMENT
Social environment- social capital (culture, role models, social networks, etc)
Political environment- business policies, property laws
Economic environment- economic policies
Technological environment- role of technology (ICTs)
Traditional management vs. entrepreneurial management
BUSINESS ENTRY OPTIONS
Starting from scratch (New-New Approach)
Buying a going concern (Old-New Approach)
Franchising
EVALUATING A BUSINESS VENTURE
Carrying out feasibility studies (market feasibility, production feasibility, financial
feasibility and venture feasibility)
Business plan writing (definition, importance and structure)
FUNDING A VENTURE
Types of finances-equity, micro-finance, debt and grants
Evaluating each type of funding option
Critical risks and crimes in Small Businesses and their mitigation
Fire
Internal theft
Robbery
Fraud
Cheque deception
WOMEN AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Challenges faced by women entrepreneurs
Differences between male and female entrepreneurs
Mitigating women entrepreneurs challenges
Characteristics of women entrepreneurs
Teaching Methodology
Lectures
Group work
Class discussions
Written individual (2) and group (1) assignments

Course Assessment: students will be assessed based on one individual assignment 8%,
an in-class test 12%, a group assignment (preparation of a business plan) 10% and final
examination 70%.

Core Texts
Students are encouraged to read any Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management
text books. However the core texts for the course are:
 Entrepreneurship and New venture Management by Issa Van Aardt and Carel Van
Aardt
 Small Business Management : Entrepreneurship and beyond by Timothy S Hatten
Further Readings

 Entrepreneurship on Trial, 2001: Cases Concepts And Principles From The

Banking Sector, Dr T.T. Makoni
 Entrepreneurship, Start your own Business by J Kroon
 Small business management, an entrepreneur’s guidebook byMegginson L. C,
Byrd. J, and Megginson W. L

E-Resources
 www.jstor.org/stable/2486746- Strategic management Journal.

 www.jstor.org/stable/3875185-Journal of International Business

Studies