African entrepreneurs: An analysis of their motivation for starting their own business

Abstract

This study analyses the motivation of entrepreneurs for starting a business. More specifically, it aims to identify whether entrepreneurs have common motives for starting their own business, and whether men and women have different reasons for becoming entrepreneurs. A motivation scale and open-ended questions were used to measure motivation on a sample of more than 100 entrepreneurs. The results of a factor analysis indicate that entrepreneurs have various reasons for starting a business, and are primarily motivated by the needs for independence, material incentives and achievement.