The Role of Entrepreneurship Centres

The extant literature has focused on what entrepreneurship centres are doing or have done with minimal attention to considering their future role, especially within the context of transformational entrepreneurship. If it is accepted that entrepreneurship centres will continue to play an important role in the immediate future, then the question is whether the existing roles of entrepreneurship centres are in line with future expectations. There is a growing perspective that although a plethora of entrepreneurial support activities exist, they struggle to create the future desired state of socio-economic growth. Various questions are raised in this debate, such as the following: Are entrepreneurial centres part of the enterprising agenda or are they only used as a marketing or income-generating tool? If there is a definite role to play for entrepreneurship centres within a higher education institution’s entrepreneurship agenda, what should their role be and what type of support should be provided to these entrepreneurship centres? These questions are addressed in this chapter