Strategic Pathways For Entrepreneurial-Intended Universities: Insights From Global Best Practices

South African higher education institutions have embarked on a strategic transformation towards becoming entrepreneurial hubs to contribute to the local economy. This study undertook a comprehensive systematic review of global literature on established entrepreneurial university models, identifying key indicators critical for advancing entrepreneurial agendas within academic institutions. These indicators were further triangulated with the country’s grassroots reality to further assess the situation for possible adoption, using the University of Venda as a case study. Through a simple random sampling technique, 520 participants were identified from the University’s student population for the study and data was collected using a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire. An ordinal regression analysis was employed to examine the predictive influence of the identified variables on entrepreneurial transformation. Results indicated that all three indicators—entrepreneurial support, entrepreneurship education, and research enterprise—were statistically significant predictors at the p = 0.00 level. Entrepreneurial support demonstrated the highest predictive strength, followed by entrepreneurship education, while research enterprising exhibited the least influence. The finding emphasizes the need for stakeholders to channel investments towards areas of high predictive potential to accelerate the entrepreneurial transformation of universities. Future research should focus on context-specific and regionally adaptive indicators to further refine strategies and ensure alignment with the unique institutional characteristics, ultimately enabling more effective policy formulation and implementation in the entrepreneurial academic landscape. Keywords: Entrepreneurial University, Rural-Based Higher Institution, Transformative Indicators, Economic Development.