YOUNG PEOPLE VERY KEEN ON THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ADVENTURE

STUDENTS HAVE A VERY POSITIVE IMAGE OF THE ENTREPRENEUR 

Entrepreneurship does not frighten young people anymore. A large proportion amongst them believes it is ready to go into entrepreneurship. According to the MOOVJEE study, 45% of young French high school and college students wish to create or take over a business. If this figure has grown in recent years, it is primarily thanks to the positive vision that students have of entrepreneurship. As a matter of fact, the interviewees put forward the positive image they have of the entrepreneur, namely that he is perceived as a leader (49%), a passionate (43%), a risk taker (42%), but also a creative (39%). The entrepreneur is thus respected for his many skills, but also for the values ​​he transmits: for 50% of the young people surveyed, the entrepreneur must have confidence others, be caring, with values ​​of solidarity and mutual help. He must also have good listening skills (39%), show boldness and ambition (38%), commitment (36%), integration and togetherness (35%), and have initiative (34%).

Today’s students feel that they too have the skills, hard and soft, to make them seasoned entrepreneurs. To illustrate this, the respondents detail their strengths, namely their ability to work hard (49%), autonomy (38%), enthusiasm (37%), innovative ideas (33%) and support of those around them (31%). And their motivation is very real: 20% of students plan to become an entrepreneur during their studies, or just after, while 46% of them think they can start between 3 and 5 years after graduation.

A WILL FOR A COMMITTED AND RESPONSIBLE ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Beyond a real appetite for entrepreneurship, the study revealed that young people aim to become engaged entrepreneurs, giving meaning to their career and their activity. They are interested in themes such as ecology and the fight against global warming (41%), gender equality (38%), equal opportunities (30%) and well-being at work.

But beware; this positivism does not hide the difficulties that can arise in an entrepreneurial journey. In fact, the majority of young people (91%) consider it difficult (or very difficult) to create their company. Several brakes are singled out, starting with the lack of financial means (69%) or experience (48%). It should be noted that 75% regret that they have not been aware of business start-up support schemes.

However, measures are being taken to encourage students to start their own business and help them make their project a reality. One of which is the student-entrepreneur status, created in 2014 by the Ministry of National Education, Higher Education and Research. Any student or young graduate under the age of 28 may submit an application to be accompanied by a PEPITE (“Pôles étudiants pour l’innovation, le transfert et l’entrepreneuriat”). In 2014-2015, 637 young people benefited from PEPITE, while they were 3,576 in 2018 (out of more than 6,000 applications received).

Do you have the entrepreneurial soul? Put all the chances on your side to concretize your project by following one of the programs proposed by the American Business School of Paris, such as the MBA in Entrepreneurship & International Business Development.