In this chapter, the importance of entrepreneurial competencies and entrepreneurial education in developing countries was discussed. Furthermore, collaborative networks were presented as effective instruments for promoting the entrepreneurial competencies of both HEI students and teachers. The primary argument presented in this work is that, especially in countries with major weaknesses concerning entrepreneurial culture and human capital, collaborative partnerships with other international and national universities and organizations are fundamental to the generation and dissemination of knowledge and an entrepreneurial mindset. In fact, the literature review showed that university networks are considered one of the most important vehicles of knowledge transfer between universities and between universities, young entrepreneurs and other economic actors.
The case of Mozambique was presented, a country where the national strategy for development is heavily centred in the human capital development and where entrepreneurship education plays a fundamental role. In fact, in its public communications, the Mozambican Government emphasize the importance of collaboration between the different sectors of society and cooperation with international organizations in order to promote learning and change attitudes. In line with this, since the 1990s, governments have strongly invested in entrepreneurship education and training with the collaboration of other national and international organizations. Investment in entrepreneurship education in HEIs represents a central issue of this strategy.
This study focused in the ESNEC case, which represents one of the more important and recent developments of entrepreneurship education in Mozambique. This case showed how collaborative university networks have been used as tools for the development of the entrepreneurial competencies of both teachers and students and as a vehicle for knowledge dissemination within the community. More specifically, cooperation with other universities is being used to promote the mobility of resources for the specific purpose of improving teachers' entrepreneurship knowledge and competencies; other collaborative projects have been implemented in order to promote innovation and the dissemination of business knowledge among students and entrepreneurs in the surrounding community.
How far these investments in entrepreneurship education, especially those in HEIs have been effective as a strategy for development is beyond the scope of this work; however, in the medium-long term, this will be an important issue to address within the continuity of the debate about whether entrepreneurship can or cannot be taught and learned.
Finally, it must be noted, as mentioned by 1, that there are two important dimensions that affect successful entrepreneurship: the human capital of the individual and the business environment in which individuals operate. In this sense, entrepreneurs’ ability to succeed based on their own skills and abilities is moderated by the context in which they operate. In spite of the fact that there is some cause for optimism in Mozambique, the challenges for achieving a vibrant entrepreneurial economy in Mozambique are significant. Entrepreneurship education can only address some of these challenges 2. Despite the increasing importance given to entrepreneurship education, networks and cooperation, Mozambique has many shortcomings in terms of infrastructure, human capital, financial capital, organizational structure, technological development and also in terms of organizational development agreements, often associated with lack of confidence, lack of fidelity and opportunistic behaviour, i.e., the lack of an organizational culture. All of these constraints have an impact on entrepreneurial outcomes. Therefore, the improvement of organizational culture in Mozambique should also be seen as one of the contributions or earnings resulting from cooperative networks. In reference to 3, it was argued that “learning organisations require a culture where all individuals, without exception, share organizational values. A climate of trust and respect between all acceptable stakeholders and aspects like change/adaptation, innovation and creativity are factors to take into consideration” (p.1729). On the other hand, issues related to access to and the cost of financial capital, as well as integration into markets though market information, regulatory regimes and infrastructure constraints are beyond the scope of what any single programme of entrepreneurship education can address; however, these programmes will clearly benefit from greater attention to the links between improvements in knowledge and skills and other enterprise development mechanisms, including access to funding and market intelligence. In these contexts, networks and HEIs play a fundamental role.
- 1143 reads
