Abstract:
The study investigated the participation of public service retirees in entrepreneurial
activities in Dar es Salaam. Its specific objectives were to find out whether the public
service retirees engage in entrepreneurial activities, identify the type of entrepreneurial
activities that public service retirees engage in and examine the factors influencing the
participation of public service retirees in entrepreneurial activities in the study area. The
study employed a descriptive research design. Its sample comprised 110 conveniently
selected public retirees. The primary data collection tool was a questionnaire survey.
The study found the public service retirees to be engaged in entrepreneurial activities
primarily for self-employment to generate income and improve the post-retirement
livelihoods. The majority of these retirees mostly engaged in entrepreneurial activities
such as poultry keeping, petty trade and food processing as their source of income. The
study also found that family size, education level, work experience, access to finance,
entrepreneurial training, access to market, innovation and creativity and government
policies as the perceived factors that influence the participation of public services
retirees in entrepreneurial activities. Based on these findings, the study recommends that
public services retirees should engage in entrepreneurial activities that are within their
managing capacity so as to create viable self-employment ventures capable of
generating income and improve their post-retirement livelihoods, Moreover, there is a
need for public services retirees to engage in entrepreneurial activities that require little
capital investment and easy administration along with attending entrepreneurial
trainings to help improve their business management knowledge and skills. Moreover,
there is a need for public service retirees to be creative and innovative in managing their
entrepreneurial activities as doing so would make them competent enough to have a
competitive edge in business environments. Furthermore, the Tanzania government
should have in place favourable policies, rules and regulations that guide business
registration to encourage many more retirees to register their businesses conveniently.
