The Involvement of Retired Public Workers in Entrepreneurship in Tanzania

Abstract

The authors investigated retired public workers' involvement in entrepreneurship by describing the choice of entrepreneurship activities by retirees, factors that motivate or compel them to partake in entrepreneurship, and challenges encountered by retirees in managing their ventures. The study employed a snowball sampling technique to ensure that the appropriate respondents were contacted and included in the sample. The study found that, to a large extent, retired workers became involved in entrepreneurship due to push factors that include fear of boredom and failure to meet personal and family needs. On the other hand, other retirees enter into entrepreneurship due to pull factors that include the desire for profits and capital gains, and the desire to accumulate wealth and assets. The study also found that retirees prefer to participate in crop and livestock production, retail businesses, and service-oriented businesses. The study found that limited seed and growth capital and inaccessibility to financial and credit markets are the main challenges facing retirees' businesses.