Enhancing student entrepreneurship through enterprise incubation platforms: The UMK Chill'x experience.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant rise in unemployment in Malaysia, with the unemployment rate reaching 4.8% by December 2020, as reported by the Malaysian Statistics Department. The Movement Control Order (MCO) implemented during the pandemic exacerbated this issue, leading to an influx of unemployed individuals, including recent graduates who lack the entrepreneurial skills to start their own businesses. Established small-scale businesses in Malaysia are also facing challenges, as they often fail to capitalize on available resources, contributing to business failures. This highlights a broader issue within Malaysia’s education system, which does not sufficiently equip students with the skills needed to address unemployment challenges. In response, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), known as Malaysia’s leading entrepreneurship university, has established the Chill'X Business Incubator facility through its Faculty of Business and Entrepreneurship. Chill'X aims to foster entrepreneurial mindsets among students and provide the necessary experience, networks, and tools to support new business development, particularly in the retail sector. This study evaluates the role of Chill'X as a University Business Incubator (UBI) and examines its effectiveness in supporting the growth of student-led businesses, addressing the challenges of unemployment and business failure in Malaysia.