Student Micro-Entrepreneurship and the role of technologies: preliminary findings from 4 African Public Universities

The rapid growth of financial technology (fintech) has greatly transformed access to finance in developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, where mobile money plays a key role in digital financial inclusion. Although previous research has mainly examined households, informal traders, and macro-financial indicators, there has been little qualitative focus on student entrepreneurs in universities. This study investigates how mobile money assists student entrepreneurship in Ghana and influences their venture strategies, liquidity management, and risk mitigation efforts. Utilising the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Financial Inclusion Theory, and Effectuation Theory, this study employs an exploratory qualitative approach. Seventeen student entrepreneurs from Ghanaian public universities completed open-ended questionnaires. Thematic analysis indicates that mobile money serves as more than just a payment method; it is a vital entrepreneurial infrastructure. It promotes liquidity flow, enables immediate supplier payments, boosts customer trust with instant confirmations, reduces dependence on formal banking, supports low-cost risk testing through prepayment options, and aids market growth by integrating with social media commerce. Despite challenges such as transaction fees, fraud risks, and network instability, participants view these as manageable trade-offs given the operational benefits. The findings expand TAM to micro-entrepreneurial environments, demonstrate how digital finance facilitates financial inclusion at the venture level, and show how mobile money aids effective decision-making under uncertainty. This paper adds to entrepreneurship research by showing how digital financial tools influence venture resilience and growth in resource-limited settings.