In Malaysia, although youth entrepreneurship is now on the rise and is a topic much discussed and highlighted in the media, what is still lacking is systematic and in-depth knowledge of youth entrepreneurship in Malaysia. The authors feel that greater knowledge about youth entrepreneurship is necessary to provide information to the government to design effective strategies and programmes for improvement in youth entrepreneurship so as to increase socio-economic development. This knowledge is useful to society, particularly to youths, especially in alleviating problems of youth unemployment, and to increase youth participation and interest in entrepreneurship as a form of career path. To obtain such knowledge, the authors embarked on an exploratory study in 2009 on the nature of youth entrepreneurship in Malaysia. The study aims to explore the entrepreneurial characteristics of youth entrepreneurs in terms of personal, social and business characteristics, as well as challenges they faced. Findings from a survey of 531 male and female youths in Klang Valley revealed some commonalities between the youths in terms of entrepreneurial traits, problems and challenges faced by them.

Keywords: Youth Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Traits, Personal Characteristics, Social Characteristics, Business Characteristics

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