This book sets out a potential response to two major challenges facing OECD countries: the "youth problem", or the need to ensure that young people can play a full role in society, and the need to foster entrepreneurship for job creation.

This book analyses the opportunities and barriers for youth entrepreneurship amid systemic change in Central and Eastern Europe. The authors cover different aspects of youth entrepreneurship and its contribution to the debate on youth unemployment in transition economies. The book discusses the wide-spread over-optimism regarding youth entrepreneurship, self-employment, and its impact on economic innovation and job creation, resulting from a disregard of critical contextual features and the characteristics of young entrepreneurs themselves. The authors give due acknowledgment of the importance of both factors and so fully understand the impediments to youth entrepreneurship, especially in a transition context. Furthermore, they seek to assess the opportunities and constraints of promotion policies in transition economies. Most importantly, the book provides the first empirical contribution to youth entrepreneurship in Central and Eastern Europe by offering a representative number of case studies. The book will be invaluable reading for scholars and students of transition and developing countries, particularly those with an interest in entrepreneurship.

The challenges and opportunities facing the Nigerian youths demand rethinking of new ways of doing things. Youth unemployment and underemployment are at a record high. More than ever, the Nigerian youths are in dire need of finding other avenues to explore in pursuit of life endeavors. Youth employment, underemployment, and unemployment are serious concerns for our society, civilization, and the nation. Ehiobuche and Madueke took a different approach to discussing and presenting a practical approach to youth entrepreneurshipfrom the notion of a shared responsibility for the change of mindset from falling into the victims theory dimensions to intelligent ventures and resilience. Their model presents insight on how a paradigm shift among the youths and the society in general from job search to business development may well lead to entrepreneurs and self-productive citizens. The authors hope to inspire, inform, and encourage todays youths to become tomorrows entrepreneurs, leaders, and good citizens. Making the transition from seeking employment, unemployment, or underemployment to self-employment/entrepreneurship is the primary purpose of this book. The topics include the following: Conquering personal and cultural roadblocks to entrepreneurship Shifting mental and physical focus from employee to employer Avoiding common pitfalls in starting and running a sustainable small business Making the best out of being a youth The authors urge the Nigerian youths to avoid falling into a victim mentality and start their paradigm shift into the mindsets of entrepreneurs.

Young people in sub-Saharan Africa are growing up in rapidly changing social and economic environments which produce high levels of un- and underemployment. Job creation through entrepreneurship is currently being promoted by international organizations, governments and NGOs as a key solution, despite there being a dearth of knowledge about youth entrepreneurship in an African context. This book makes an important contribution by exploring the nature of youth entrepreneurship in Ghana, Uganda and Zambia. It provides new insights into conceptual and methodological discussions of youth entrepreneurship as well as presenting original empirical data. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative research, conducted under the auspices of a collaborative, interdisciplinary and comparative research project, it highlights the opportunities and challenges young people face in setting up and running businesses. Divided into a number of clear sections, each with its own introduction and conclusion, the book considers the nature of youth entrepreneurship at the national level, in both urban and rural areas, in specific sectors - including mobile telephony, mining, handicrafts and tourism - and analyses how key factors, such as microfinance, social capital and entrepreneurship education, affect youth entrepreneurship. New light is shed on the multi-faceted nature of youth entrepreneurship and a convincing case is presented for a more nuanced understanding of the term entrepreneurship and the situation faced by many African youth today. This book will be of interest to a wide range of scholars interested in youth entrepreneurship, including in development studies, business studies, youth studies and geography, as well as to development practitioners and policy makers. The Open Access title has now been added to the Open Access page. http://www.tandfebooks.com/page/openaccess