Purpose Entrepreneurs engaging in social entrepreneurship are inspired by a need to make a difference in their local socio-economic circumstances. In developing countries and emerging economies, social entrepreneurs from deep rural areas are tapping into different types of ways to inspire themselves to sustain actions. Little research has been done to investigate the role religion plays as a source of inspiration to rural entrepreneurs in developing countries. Many scholars from economic sciences reject the probability of linking religion to social entrepreneurship. The purpose of this study is to investigate themes as inspired by religious paradigm aspects of desire, disenchantment, epiphany, bridging and enlightenment. A framework was created for social entrepreneurship development by using religious drivers as premise. Design/methodology/approach In a partially inductive, exploratory design, this study examined the objectives through a qualitative approach. ATLAS.ti, a qualitative data analysis programme, was used for thematic analysis. Findings The key finding was that in this specific rural demographic area, social entrepreneurs often express a common motivation as an aspiration to integrate their religious beliefs and work. Originality/value Investigating a specific demographic sample in a deep rural area in Nigeria provided valuable insights into the community’s way of living by incorporating aspects of religious drivers to develop social entrepreneurship. It was also valuable to discover that the sample views qualities such as hard work, independence and thrift as drivers to strengthen their religious belief and in return boost social entrepreneurship.

The South African government, like other countries, has put in place a variety of support measures to aid potential entrepreneurs and existing entrepreneurs to expand their operations. It is unclear, to what extent understanding of these support measures impacts individual entrepreneurial orientation propensities (IEO). The study objective was to investigate the impact of government policy on IEO propensities of risk-taking, innovativeness and proactiveness to engage in entrepreneurial activity, from a systems analysis perspective. The research was carried out using mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative data). The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) from Smart PLS 3.0 software was employed to analyse the data. The study was limited to 235 entrepreneurs from various towns, cities, and settlements in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa who were present at Minara Chamber of Commerce Women’s Conference. The findings showed that government policy impact IEO propensities to engage in entrepreneurial activities.