Jugaad as a decolonising cultural logic in entrepreneurship education: pluralising entrepreneurial learning in the United Arab Emirates

Purpose This study examines how Jugaad, a culturally-embedded South Asian entrepreneurial logic, remains meaningful beyond its place of origin and what its comparison with curriculum-mediated student reasoning reveals about pluralising entrepreneurship education (EE). Design/methodology/approach Qualitative data were collected from immigrant entrepreneurs who practice Jugaad and EE students enrolled in formal entrepreneurship education programs in the UAE. The analysis examines how practice-based Jugaadi reasoning differs from curriculum-mediated reasoning among entrepreneurship education students. Findings Jugaadi entrepreneurs drew on relational knowledge, contextual adaptation, cultural intuition and practical engagement, whereas students relied more heavily on structured models and formal analysis. The contrast identifies forms of entrepreneurial reasoning that planning-centred EE may under-recognise and reveals pedagogical possibilities for incorporating culturally-embedded knowledge into entrepreneurship learning. Research limitations/implications UAE-based qualitative sample may limit generalisability but provides grounds for research in diverse cultural and educational contexts. Practical implications The findings offer educators four Jugaad-informed practices: designing with constraints, validating ideas through relationships, assessing contextual judgement and comparing planning-centred with improvisational approaches. Social implications Higher education institutions are encouraged to pluralise EE curricula by recognising culturally embedded ways of entrepreneurial knowing. The findings also support SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) by strengthening youth enterprise development. Originality/value The study demonstrates how a culturally-embedded entrepreneurial logic can remain generative beyond its place of origin and become a pedagogical resource for pluralising EE. It conceptualises Jugaad as a distinctive way of entrepreneurial knowing and explains how comparing it with curriculum-mediated student reasoning can inform curriculum, teaching and assessment.