Over spring break, Kelly Shaver, professor of entrepreneurial studies at the College of Charleston School of Business, traveled to South Africa to serve as the academic lead for a project that would test and examine the “entrepreneurial mindset” of business leaders in developing countries.

Shaver helped develop the test, which is the first of its kind, in partnership with the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation and Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN).

Although South Africa is the first country to take the test (slated for late spring), the ultimate goal is to produce an international database that uses the same measure of entrepreneurial mindset across countries.

The results of the test in South Africa will be revealed during GEN’s Startup Nations Summit in Estonia this September.

In addition to assisting with the creation of the test while in Africa, Shaver taught a class on the psychology of entrepreneurship and participated in a two-hour panel session on entrepreneurial mindset. Members of GEN’s Global Entrepreneurship Congress attended both events.

Shaver also took the time to meet with representatives from Austria, Korea and Malaysia — three countries that have expressed interest in using the entrepreneurial mindset scale in their own countries.

If the test is successful, it could result in a tremendous amount of international data. More importantly, the project could help set the agenda for funding and supporting entrepreneurial projects in developing countries around the world.