Drivers and deterrents of entrepreneurial enterprise in the risk‐prone Global South

Abstract

Through the case of Guinea-Bissau, this article considers how small-scale, often cross-border entrepreneurs mitigate risk and establish resilient businesses able to cope with ongoing political and economic shocks. Nineteen interviews and 153 surveys were conducted over two months with business leaders and regulators within the commercial centers and markets of Guinea-Bissau to assess entrepreneurial profiles and activities. Findings show that small-scale private investment from the Global South is increasing. Through thematic analysis, 18 different drivers of foreign business and 23 impediments to foreign entrepreneurship and investment were identified within this risk-prone environment. Limited assets imply limited opportunities, suggesting a need to mobilize all available resources to achieve entrepreneurial success. The implications of this research are that resiliency for these foreign investors has improved and risks are mitigated through established social capital that can be converted into financial capital, linked social-business networks across borders, microenvironmental knowledge, and maintaining relatively small businesses able to fly "under the radar." In understanding foreign entrepreneurs' motives, the social and structural undergirding of South-South investment is exposed.

“Once you support, you are supported”: Entrepreneurship and reintegration among ex‐prisoners in Gulu, northern Uganda

“…It is a relational term that emerges out of contexts depending on shared conventionally established meanings” (Boholm 2010, 175). In this case, what constituted a risk, and indeed an acceptable level of risk, in entrepreneurship differed between Mission Forward's organizational position and clients', as a result of their differing conceptualizations of socioeconomic security (Lundy, Patterson, and O'Neill ).…”

Determinants of Chinese FDI to Sub-Saharan Africa: a regional analysis and Guinea-Bissau case study

“…Further remarks on Chinese FDI to Guinea-Bissau Lundy, Patterson, and O'Neill (2017) offer interesting findings from a micro perspective on small-scale foreign investments in Guinea-Bissau. Having surveyed about 18% of total businesses in the country, spread across major commercial centers across the capital and the rural areas, they find that 5% are Chinese-owned, making it the most common non-African nationality among investors into small businesses (Lundy et al, 2017). These micro enterprises are the only identified segment with Chinese investments that are not linked to the government, albeit in negligible amounts.…”

Rebuilding Tertiary Education in Guinea-Bissau: Can it be done?

“…These shifting "rules of the game" make it difficult for tertiary educational initiatives to operate in this unstable political terrain. Furthermore, costs associated with these political transitions, in terms of money and time, potentially lead to donor-collaborator fatigue and withdrawal (Lundy, Patterson, and O'Neill 2017).…”