Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurship in Africa

Identifying and Spurring High-Growth Entrepreneurship: Experimental Evidence from a Business Plan Competition

“…3 New job creation by firms is of particular importance in sub-Saharan Africa given that it currently has the lowest share of the labor force in wage work of any region in the world, and that demographic forces result in the working-age population growing 2.8 percent per year (ILO 2012). A long literature suggests that a perceived lack of high-growth entrepreneurship in many African countries (e.g., Elkan 1988;Omidyar Network 2013) may be in part due to multiple market failures that prevent individuals with good ideas from funding them. This paper provides empirical evidence that there are such potential high growth entrepreneurs who can grow rapidly if funded.…”

The Practice of Industrial Policy

“…Could it be that at the time of its takeoff, China was endowed with abundant entrepreneurial skills which are lacking in Africa today? In our study, we find that if entrepreneurial skills are meant to denote the ability to sense profit and take advantage of it, a definition that Elkan (1988), used three decades ago, then Africa does have plenty of these talents, as seen in the large informal sector.…”

Drivers of Entrepreneurship and Post-Entry Performance of Newborn Firms in Developing Countries

“…In addition, from a sociological point of view, an ethnic minority, characterized by common traits such as language, culture and religion, generates trust, social cohesion and emulation, which are all factors that favor entrepreneurial behavior (see Greif, 1993;Hobday, 1995;Iyer and Schoar, 2010). Finally, a minority group may also be affected by a feeling of insecurity and frustration (in comparison with a dominant group), which encourages members to seek economic success and a better social status (see Elkan, 1988) 20 .…”