Which actors provide which resources to student entrepreneurs in entrepreneurial ecosystems?

The aim of this research is to characterise the role of three categories of actors of the university entrepreneurial ecosystem that provide resources to student entrepreneurs: the entrepreneurship centre that accompany student entrepreneurs, the personal network, and the actors of the entrepreneurial ecosystem that are not specific to student entrepreneurs. We collected data from 210 French student entrepreneurs. We show that entrepreneurship centres and personal networks play specific roles. Entrepreneurship centres contribute a lot to the development of the entrepreneurial and managerial competences of student entrepreneurs and provide workspaces. The personal network plays an important role in providing emotional support and small amounts of funding before the raising of important fundings from investors, banks or accelerators. The other actors of the entrepreneurial ecosystem also play a major role in funding projects that require strong investments, sharing knowledge, contributing to the development of entrepreneurial and managerial competences.