The influence of social media platforms in promoting self-employment opportunities among university graduates in Tanzania

Graduate unemployment in Tanzania remains a persistent challenge, with many degree holders facing limited formal job opportunities and underemployment. In response, university graduates are increasingly turning to social media platforms as accessible avenues for generating income, marketing products, and building entrepreneurial networks. This study investigates the influence of social media platforms, specifically Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp, on promoting self-employment opportunities among university graduates in Tanzania. Based on the Social Capital Theory, a quantitative research design was employed, targeting a population of 300 self-employed bachelor graduates, from which a sample of 171 respondents was selected using convenience sampling. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and analysed using descriptive statistics and linear regression in SPSS version 26. Linear regression analysis (n=171) showed that social media platforms had a significant positive impact on self-employment among university graduates (B=0.331, t=7.465, p<0.001). The standardised coefficient (Beta=0.498) indicated a moderate to strong relationship, suggesting that increased use of social media platforms enhances self-employment opportunities. The study concluded that social media is a key tool for graduate entrepreneurship, reducing entry barriers and enhancing innovation and networking. Based on these results, it is recommended that universities provide practical digital marketing and social media training, government agencies support online business initiatives, and graduates actively engage with digital platforms to strengthen their entrepreneurial outcomes.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  African Quarterly Social Science Review

• Publication date

  2025-11-03

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.51867/aqssr.2.4.29
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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