new african entrepreneurs_a

8/3/2019 New African Entrepreneurs_a

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/new-african-entrepreneursa 1/26

The ‘new generation of African entrepreneurs’:networking to change the climate for businessand private sector-led development

BARBARA E. MCDADEy and ANITA SPRINGzyDepartment of Geography, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA;

e-mail: [email protected]

zDepartment of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville,

Florida, USA; e-mail: [email protected]

This paper discusses the entrepreneurial landscape in Africa and locates a new generation of African entrepreneurs and their business networks within it. Unlike others in that landscape

(i.e. micro- or small-scale informal sector vendors, and traditional or multinational large-scaleformal sector firms), the ‘new generation’ entrepreneurs are business globalists who organizeda system of business enterprise networks consisting of national, regional, and pan-Africanorganizations. The study analyses interview data from 57 men and women network membersfrom 10 countries (Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda,Zambia, and Zimbabwe). Some defining characteristics of these entrepreneurs are interactivesocial and business relationships, use of modern management methods and informationtechnology, trust among fellow members, transparent business practices, advocacy on behalf of the private sector, and commitment to increasing intra-African commerce. Their mission isto improve the climate for private sector business in Africa and to promote regional economicintegration. They pursue cross-national commercial ventures, maintain official observerstatus at established regional economic organizations, sign memoranda of understanding withmultilateral agencies, establish venture capital funds, and help to change government policies.

The paper identifies characteristics of the ‘new generation’ entrepreneurs, evaluates goals andachievements of their networks, and concludes that despite limitations, these entrepreneurs andtheir organizations have created intra- and cross-national networks that strengthenprivate-sector-led economic growth in Africa.

Keywords: entrepreneurship; private sector; business networks; Africa

1. Introduction

The study of entrepreneurship and indigenous private enterprise is a significant com-

ponent of research on economic development in Africa (Spring and McDade 1998,

Bowditch 1999, Choudhury 1999, King and McGrath 1999, Kinunda-Rutashobya

and Olomi 1999, Agbaw 2000, Mshomba 2000, Fick 2002, Jackson 2002, McDade

2003, Murinde and Woldie 2003, among others). Most research focuses on entrepre-

neurs who operate micro- and small-scale enterprises in the traditional informal and

formal sectors. Much less has been written about entrepreneurs who own and operate

medium- and large-scale businesses in the modern formal sector. This paper considers

this segment of entrepreneurs, specifically focusing on a new entrepreneurial group

in the landscape who founded a system of regional enterprise networks in response

ENTREPRENEURSHIP & REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, 17, JANUARY (2005), 17–42

Entrepreneurship and Regional Development ISSN 0898–5626 print/ISSN 1464–5114 online# 2005 Taylor & Francis Group Ltdhttp://www.tandf.co.uk/journals

DOI: 10.1080/0898562042000310714



to liberalized economic and political conditions, which they perceive provide

economic and professional opportunities in Africa. With donor funding assistance,

they organized 31 national, three regional, and one pan-African business networks

in West, East, and Southern Africa. The objective of these networks is to expand intra-

African business activity and investment, and to help to create a more favourable

climate for the private sector. These entrepreneurs are highly educated men andwomen who have prior work experience in formal sector firms in Africa and elsewhere,

and they have a global outlook. This study looks at this small, but potentially

influential segment of the business community, who describe themselves as the ‘new

generation of African entrepreneurs’.

In the interdisciplinary volume African Entrepreneurship: Theory and Reality (Spring

and McDade 1998), various authors examined a spectrum of entrepreneurs ranging

from illiterate owners of micro-enterprises to wealthy founders of large manufacturing

firms and their MBA-educated managers (Hart 1972, Beveridge and Obserschall

1979, Jalloh and Falola 2002). Then, in 1999 and 2000, several African entrepreneurs

attending a major trade and investment symposium in the USA identified themselvesas members of the ‘new generation of African entrepreneurs’. They used cell phones,

laptop computers, international credit cards, and e-mail accounts. Most had earned

bachelor or graduate degrees, many had managerial or ownership experience in major

formal sector companies. Some were members of three recently established regional

enterprise networks of business people whose objectives are to exchange information

and facilitate business linkages among network members within countries, among

the regions, and in the global arena. Many network members had travelled abroad

to study and work, then returned to Africa to pursue business opportunities rather

than remain in lucrative jobs overseas. A literature review revealed a paucity

of publications on this segment (see below for a review). This paper expandsthe study of African entrepreneurship, identifies the characteristics (demographic,

attitudes, practices) of the entrepreneurs, and evaluates their goals and accomplish-

ments with respect to intra-Africa trade, advocacy for the private sector, and creation

of venture capital funds. It analyses their efforts to improve the climate for business

in Africa and to increase regional business activity.

The entrepreneurial landscape in Africa is discussed in the next section, which also

introduces the new generation entrepreneurs and their network organizations.

The data collected and the methods used to analyse them follow in section 3.

Sections 4 and 5 present findings about the characteristics of the new generation

entrepreneurs and the national, regional, and pan-African enterprise networks,

respectively. Section 6 reviews a comparative survey of network members; section 7assesses the entrepreneurs and their networks. Conclusions are given in section 8.

2. The entrepreneurial landscape in Africa

The entrepreneurial landscape in Africa ranges from a multitude of micro-enterprises

that provide marginal employment for a single individual to a small number of large

corporations employing hundreds of people; an assortment of businesses span

these extremes. The configuration includes informal and formal sector businesses,traditional and modern, indigenous and foreign-owned enterprises geographically

dispersed in rural and urban areas.

18 BARBARA E. MCDADE AND ANITA SPRING



2.1 Microentrepreneurs in the informal sector

Only 2% of all African businesses have 10 or more employees (Spring and McDade

1998, Manu 1999). The majority are micro and small-scale enterprises (MSEs) that

consist of one to three employees (Daniels et al . 1995, Kibera 1999, Jalloh and Falola

2002), mostly in the informal sector. There is no conclusive definition of the informalsector, although the term has been in existence since the 1970s. Initially, it referred

to unregistered, unregulated businesses, including service enterprises (e.g. hairdressing,

commercial transportation, auto repairing, etc.), production activities (e.g. furniture,

metal equipment manufacturing, etc.), and vendoring (e.g. food, clothing, medicines,

etc.). Charmes (1999) estimates that the informal sector contributes 20% to 40%

of total GDP in several African countries, and 40% to 60% of non-agricultural

GDP. However, in spite of support from donor agencies and non-governmental agen-

cies (NGOs) over the past 30 years, the expected growth and transition of most

informal sector MSEs into medium- or large-scale enterprises has not occurred

(K’obonyo 1999, Spring 2002).There are many studies of MSEs (MacGaffey 1987, Clark 1994, Arnould 1995,

Robertson 1997, Aspaas 1998, Spring and McDade 1998, Jalloh 1999, Adenikinju

et al . 2002, Jalloh and Falola 2002) and of women marketers (see below). There are

also non-agricultural MSEs (e.g. manufacturing roof tiles, furniture, metal tools, etc.,

in both urban and rural areas). Ownership of MSEs is overwhelmingly by black

Africans (Schulpen and Gibbon 2001).

2.2 Micro- to small-scale enterprises in the formal sector

Recognizing the important role of the informal sector in providing goods and services

for the domestic market, governments and NGOs attempted to formalize them

by providing sites (e.g. market spaces and industrial districts) and offering services

(e.g. microfinancing, utilities, and skills training). Informal businesses were sometimes

conveniently reclassified as ‘formal’ so that municipal governments could register

and tax them. These small enterprises face many obstacles to growth including:

(1) difficulty in attracting investment capital and gaining access to markets;

(2) isolation and lack of productive linkages with other businesses; (3) lack of business

training and expertise for both owners and employees; (4) severe competition; and

(5) their customers’ low incomes. In Africa, half of the small-scale formal enterprises

with more than 10 employees are owned by residents of Asian and Middle Easterndescent (Schulpen and Gibbon 2001).

2.3 The role of gender in the entrepreneurial landscape

African women entrepreneurs are the primary provisioners of domestic food supplies

in both rural and urban areas. Most women-owned businesses are micro- and small-

scale enterprises in the informal sector (see, for example, Clark 1994, Horn 1994,

House-Midamba and Ekechi 1995, Robertson 1997, Aspaas 1998, Snyder 2000,

Mandel 2003). A study of 50 000 MSEs in Southern and Eastern Africa duringthe period 1990–98 showed that 48% were owned by women (Mead 1999).

The percentage of women owners and managers in the formal sector was considerably

A NEW GENERATION OF AFRICAN ENTREPRENEURS 19



smaller (Agbaw 2000). Even in the modern formal sector, some women entrepreneurs

feel impeded by the ‘gender divide’ that prevails in most African countries (Hagos

2000). Snyder (2000) interviewed Ugandan women entrepreneurs who established

and operated successful businesses that run the entire spectrum of the entrepreneurial

landscape. These entrepreneurs include market women (who sell everything

from water to curtains), manufacturers of leather shoes, owners of private clinicsand supermarkets, hoteliers, and tourism industry operatives. She concludes

that despite the positive impacts of women’s activism, the majority of African

women face gender disparities across all socio-economic and political indicators

of development.

2.4 Medium-scale African firms

A small, large-scale sector and a large, small-scale sector characterize most African

economies. In between is the medium-scale sector (Olomi 1999), which has beencalled the ‘missing middle’ in African economies (Esbin 1994, Ferrand 1996,

Kibiriti 1999, EnterpriseAfrica 2000: 10). However, a study of modern African entre-

preneurs in six countries (Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and

Tanzania) profiled medium-scale firms and concluded that ‘the middle is not missing’

(Marsden 1990: 5). For example, it identified 5000 formally registered road transport

companies in Tanzania, and reported that over 2000 Ghanaian businesses applied for

loans from financial institutions where the average investment project funded was

$1.5 million. These are not micro- or small-scale enterprises. Snyder’s study (2000)

revealed a small but growing segment of women owners of medium-scale businesses

in Uganda. Some of these women formed business associations to take advantageof the Ugandan government’s recent private sector-friendly policies. The Africa

Project Development Facility of the World Bank’s International Finance

Corporation (IFC) has funded medium- and large-scale African enterprises

for more than a decade (EnterpriseAfrica 2000).

2.5 Large-scale enterprises in Africa

Medium- to large-scale formal-sector enterprises owned by Africans are an important

part of the entrepreneurial landscape in spite of their small percentage. History shows

that in most African countries, colonialism stifled the growth of an indigenous formalprivate sector. After independence, some African governments limited the expansion

of businesses owned by indigenous entrepreneurs. Government leaders were suspicious

that a strong private sector comprised of their own citizens might threaten their

own powers and privileges (Business in Ghana 1996, Gray and McPherson 2001,

Wohlmuth and Wauschkunh 2001, Jackson 2002, Murinde and Woldie 2003).

Hence, during the 1960s to 1980s, many African states stepped into the role of business

owner. State-owned enterprises (SOEs) assumed the responsibility of building

the infrastructure of newly independent countries to meet the demand for goods

and services (Agbodeka 1992, McDade 2003). Most SOEs were unproductive and

failed, so by the late 1980s, many African governments abandoned this strategy.They turned to donor-driven policies that promoted private sector-led economic

development (Arzeni 1997, Thornton 1999, Coulter 2000, Premaratne 2001).




The SOEs were sold to civil servants or businessmen, many of whom came to be known

as ‘business bureaucrats’, who depended on the patronage of governments to remain

viable (Janssens-Bevernage 2002: 12). During the 1980s, donor mandated structural

adjustment programmes (SAPs) called for economic liberalization to open domestic

firms, both private and state-owned, to external competition.

Most large firms in Africa manufacture beverages, clothing, furniture, rubber,leather products, plastics, soap/toiletries, pharmaceuticals, or are in construction

and transportation (Todaro 2000, Schulpen and Gibbon 2001, Adenikinju et al .

2002). Many of these large-scale firms in Africa are owned by ethnic minorities

such as Asians, Syrians/Lebanese and Europeans. There are also multinational

companies. Indigenous Africans own one-third or less of large industrial firms.

The amount varies among countries. In Kenya black Africans own only 3.6%

of large firms, whereas in Zimbabwe the percentage is more than 30%

(Ramachandran and Shah 1999).

2.6 The ‘new generation of African entrepreneurs’

The new generation entrepreneurs in this study are members of enterprise networks

that began in 1993 with the formation of the West African Enterprise Network

(WAEN), followed in 1998 by the East African Enterprise Network (EAEN) and

Southern African Enterprise Network (SAEN). Each regional network is comprised

of national networks. WAEN consists of national networks from 13 countries in West

Africa, EAEN has seven in East Africa, and SAEN has 12 in southern Africa.1

A regional enterprise network was not established in Central Africa because

of the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2000, the pan-African Enterprise Network (AEN) was formed at the Millennium Conference

in Addis Ababa. The objectives of these networks are to strengthen private sector

regional co-operation in African countries, develop and expand formal commerce

and trade among businesses regionally and globally, and to work with governments

to change policy and regulatory environments through advocacy strategies (WAEN

1993, Orsini et al . 1996, Orsinsi 2001, Wohlmuth and Wauschkunh 2001, Janssens-

Bevernage 2002). Although the networks’ total membership is a tiny fraction

of entrepreneurs in Africa, these entrepreneurs have influenced business practices

in their countries and trade and regulatory policies as discussed below.

These networks and their members are nearly invisible to most scholars who study

entrepreneurship and economic development in Africa. A literature review revealedonly six publications in which the networks were the primary focus of study: two

articles (Orsini et al . 1996, Janssens-Bevernage 2002); two book chapters (Wohlmuth

and Wauschkunh 2001, Spring 2002); and a book in which several members were

featured (Fick 2002). Additional information about the networks and their members

can be found in their newsletters (EAEN 1998, 1999, 2000, SAEN 1999); magazine

articles by network members (Kibiriti 1999, 2000); regional networks’ websites,2 and

speeches/reports from conferences and funding agencies (Courcelle and de Lattre

1996, Orsini 1999, Orsini 2001, Light and Chibembe 2003).

Start-up funding to capacitate the national and regional networks was provided

by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) followedby the European-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

(OECD). Belgium, France, and Switzerland also contributed funds. A consultant




from USAID, who was later joined by another from OECD, co-ordinated the network

start-ups. They met with young educated, formal sector entrepreneurs and identified

potential network members from workshops, business organizations, embassy lists,

agencies, and personal contacts. Meetings and training workshops were held

in each country to recruit members and organize national networks (Courcelle and

de Lattre 1996).3

3. Data samples and research methods

The purpose of this study is to: (1) identify the demographic characteristics,

behaviours, and ideologies/attitudes that collectively distinguish these entrepreneurs,

and (2) examine how they use the enterprise networks to accomplish their goals and

objectives. The data are based on the authors’ research consisting of interviews with

57 network members from 10 African countries. This sample represents slightly more

than 10% of the total membership of the three regional networks. During the periodin which the interviews were conducted (2000 to 2004), the networks had about

550 members. Additional information on the origin, organizational structure, and

operations of the regional enterprise networks was obtained from their newsletters,

websites, as well as from interviews with officials and members of other business

and economic development organizations in the relevant countries.

The national networks included in this study are those of Ghana, Senegal, Mali,

Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Botswana, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. They

were selected for the following reasons. In West Africa, Ghana formed the first

national network and served as regional headquarters; Senegal was the site

of the regional secretariat; Mali is an active network with strong connectionsto the secretariat. In East Africa, Ethiopia’s network served as regional and pan-

African headquarters, Kenya is the economic hub of East Africa; Uganda was

the first EAEN regional headquarters. For southern Africa, Botswana was initially

the regional headquarters; and South Africa is the regional trade giant. The authors

visited these seven countries to interview network members. One of the authors

interviewed members from the Zambian network (the subsequent regional headquar-

ters) and the Zimbabwean network at a pan-African Network conference in Ethiopia.

A colleague of the author’s in Mali interviewed two network members. Table 1 shows

the number of network members interviewed out of the total national membership

by country. Most interviews were conducted from 2001 to 2003. Additional informa-

tion was obtained from interviews in 2004 with members from Botswana, Ghana andEthiopia.

Network members were contacted by mail, fax, and telephone. Telephone land

lines were often non-functioning, so cell phones provided direct access to business

owners. Names and businesses of most network members were obtained from each

network’s website while they were operational. Others were referred by members.

Data on individual entrepreneurs and their businesses were obtained from personal

narratives. Table 2 lists the open-ended topics on personal/professional backgrounds

and entrepreneurial strategies that guided the interviews. Heads of the country/

regional secretariats were interviewed for their perspectives on structure, operational

activities, and organizational constraints. Data from the narratives were analysedusing WINMAXÕ (a software programme that organizes qualitative data into

designated categories) to construct profiles of network members and the regional




networks.4 Profiles are based on demographic characteristics, business activities,

behaviour, and network relationships. To understand the business climate in the

countries involved, other business persons and financial and donor personnel were

interviewed.5 Secondary data were collected from publications and the Internet.

4. Findings: profiles of network members

4.1 Demographic characteristics of network members

This section considers age, education, international experience, ethnicity, gender, and

family background. Most new generation entrepreneurs were relatively young

(late 20s to 40s) when the networks were established. Network members are highly

educated. In the sample, 92% attended college and half earned advanced degrees

(MAs, MBAs, JDs, and PhDs). The majority (85%) were educated abroad and some

had held professional positions at firms in the USA, UK or Europe. They returned

to Africa during the past 10 years in what has been referred to as a ‘reverse Diaspora’to start their own firms (Orsini 2001: 22). Although they profess a global outlook,

network members’ personal and professional orientation is focused on ‘making it’

in Africa. Some observed the struggles of parents or other African emigrants living

as ‘foreigners’ overseas, and thought that in spite of the economic conditions in Africa,

they would have an advantage in their own countries. A Kenyan network member

who studied in India and the UK was anxious to return to Nairobi to start a business

after receiving his MBA. A Ugandan network member received a permanent

residency ‘green card’ through the US State Department’s diversity lottery but

resides in Kampala and uses her visa to facilitate business travel to the USA.

Another disregarded his father’s advice against returning to Ghana during difficulteconomic conditions in the mid-1990s but reported that he had never regretted

coming back.

Table 1 Network members interviewed (n¼ 57) by business position, acquisitionand business enterprise.

Countryn¼ 57 Membersinterviewed

National networkmembership

Business position Business acquisition Business enterprise

Owner Manager Self Family SOE* Single Multiple

Botswana 6 14 6 6 4 2Ethiopia 3 7 2 1 1 1 2Ghana 13 45 13 9 3 1 9 4Kenya 11 11 11 10 1 8 3Mali 2 17 1 1 1 1Senegal 5 18 5 5 3 2South Africa 6 10 5 1 5 5Uganda 8 10 8 6 2 6 2Zambia 1 10 1 1 1Zimbabwe 2 8 2 2 2Total 57 54 3 46 6 2 39 15Percentage 95 5 85 11 4 72 28

Source: Authors’ data.

*State-owned Enterprise.




There is no database on racial or ethnic categories of network members.

The majority are black Africans; we met an Asian (Indian) in each of the Kenya

and South African networks, one white in South Africa, and an Arab Sudanese

in the Ghana network. Members view themselves as part of an urban community

of business and professional people rather than of a particular ethnic group

or geographical area. One member from Uganda said that, contrary to traditional

African views, each person has a rural village to call home, ‘Most of us were born here

in Kampala and will live and die in the city’. As populations in capital cities haveincreased dramatically, the middle and upper classes, as well as the urban poor,

are several generations removed from their rural villages. Most middle and upper

Table 2 Interview narrative discussion topics for network members.

Narrative questions category Topic

1. Identification NameTitle

Address2. Demographic information Gender

AgeEducationFamily backgroundMarital status

3. Business profile/description Business typeLocal/national/internationalBusiness history

4. Member’s business background Previous business experienceOther businesses owned

5. Principal business transactions Management methodsEthicsTrust

6. Business constraints LocalNationalRegional

7. Business enablers LocalNationalRegional

8. Business support operations AdvertisingMarketingInternet usage, websites

9. Regional enterprise How started in national/regional networkNetwork membership Direction of national /regional network

Expansion of national /regional networkObjectives and activities

AchievementsFuture goals

10. Professional connections/networking Local/nationalRegionalInternational (outside Africa)

11. Membership in other organizations ProfessionalBusiness

12. Women’s and gender issues Interactions with other membersCredit and financingLeadership

13. Future business goals Directions and plansVisions




class urban residents attend universities, live cosmopolitan lives, and have

professional occupations. Network members fall in this category. Those members in

agribusinesses may work in offices on their farms, but they reside in the nearby cities.

Social and professional relationships among members form across kinship, ethnic

and spatial lines.

Women comprise 23% of total network members. Our sample consists of 33%women members because we sought out women members to learn of their business

experiences. The number of women in the networks varies from 40% of the 45

members in Ghana to none among Ethiopia’s seven members. The national

chairs of several country networks are women (Botswana, Kenya and South

Africa). Women members say that their gender is not disadvantageous to their

status in the networks or their business relationships with other members.

All of the women network members own or manage formal sector companies.

Women, they note, face different issues in society at large such as childcare

responsibilities, restricted access to credit and land ownership, and gender bias.

Network members try to address these issues. They act as spokespersons forwomen’s issues in their countries, sponsor training courses for women entrepreneurs

(from micro- to medium-scale businesses), and hire female managers. Others

have assisted women market traders with bookkeeping skills (Spring 2002).

However, their primary focus, like their male counterparts, is on innovating and

expanding their own businesses. Some women confided that one of the benefits of

joining the networks is the opportunity to interact with other business women who

share similar views and experiences.

Female network members complain that donors and even scholars do not

differentiate the segments of the entrepreneurial landscape in Africa. Instead, they

lump new generation entrepreneurs with micro-entrepreneurs in the informalsector. For example, a woman from Uganda declined an invitation from a

donor agency to join a weekly forum with traditional micro-enterprise women

entrepreneurs. It is likely that the advice and assistance that she sought to

upgrade and expand her business would not be found in this group. The enterprises

of these network members fall into a gap that is served neither by donors nor by

financial institutions. Donor agencies provide small loans (e.g. US$50–$100) to

micro-enterprises; banks loan multimillions to large corporations; but the medium-

sized loans (US$50 000 to $1 million) that they seek are hard to obtain.

Women network members sympathize with micro- and small-scale entrepreneurs

in the informal sector but suggest that there are many organizations that focuson this segment. Some network members work with female micro-entrepreneurs.

For example, in Ghana and Uganda, female network members helped to revise

municipal zoning regulations to benefit market women. In Uganda, a network

member buys wholesale products for her company from village women. Network

members, in general, recognize the important role that the large informal sector

plays, and realize that improvements in the business/economic climate will benefit

all levels of businesses.

About 75% of both male and female network members are married and have

children. Their spouses own other businesses or share ownership in the same

company. About one-third (31%) have parents who are/were business owners,and 17% have parents who are professionals. Parents of the others are/were civil

servants, government officials, and politicians.




4.2 Attitudes of network members

Network members were queried about their visions for the future, attitudes toward

their professional lives and network membership, their perspectives on business

enablers and constraints, and on Africa’s economic prospects. A discernible quality

is their almost palpable optimism: they are enthusiastic about their businesses andeconomic development prospects. This was somewhat of a surprise to the authors

given the existing economic conditions in Africa. The network members were

optimistic about the mission of the regional enterprise networks. However, by 2004,

concerns over distribution and control of donor funding clouded WAEN’s and

EAEN’s relationship with the donors. As a result, funding for the regional secretariats

ceased (McDade’s personal communications 2004). SAEN continues to be funded and

active although some of its constituent national networks are now inactive. The entre-

preneurs, for the most part, have continued their professional and business relation-

ships with each other despite the demise of official activities in the regional networks.

The following themes emerge from an analysis of the interview data: (1) the import-ance placed on financial transparency and ethical business behaviour; (2) the

practical significance of organizational management; (3) initiatives to obtain informa-

tion and update technology; (4) trust of fellow network members; (5) the desire

to expand intra-Africa and South-South trade and investments; (6) the consistency

of members with optimistic, ‘can-do’ attitudes; and (7) establishing co-operative

relations with government, but abstaining from patronage and rent-seeking.

Network members say that these are guiding principles that they try to incorporate

in their business and professional activities.

Compared to network members, other African entrepreneurs interviewed seem

to be just as hard-working and committed to success, but they express more pessimism(or certainly less optimism). They anguish over business constraints such as the pov-

erty in their countries, poor infrastructure, political and/or regulatory instability,

inadequately trained work-force, effects of HIV/AIDS on employees, and corruption,

among other things. They say that they feel powerless to change these conditions.

Network members, by contrast, express an attitude of empowerment and confidence

in their ability to help to improve these conditions. They do not discount the problems

they face. Rather, they have challenged and changed these conditions.

Network members have a global business outlook while maintaining an inward

focus that interprets Africa’s economic crises not as hopeless, but as fertile ground

for business opportunities. They view the role of business on a broad scale: the ability

to address the unmet demands for goods and services throughout the continent.Although they are interested in developing markets outside Africa (e.g. utilizing

recent US trade initiatives such as the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act/

AGOA), their main focus is on increasing trade and commerce within Africa.

4.3 Business experience and ownership

Forty (70%) of the network members interviewed worked in managerial positions

in other firms before starting their own enterprise. Of these 42% had been employed

as managers or other executive positions in major national firms in their own coun-tries; 25% had worked in a family-owned business before starting their own enterprise;

23% had been employed in managerial positions in a foreign firm before they returned




to Africa; and 10% worked (two were still employed) in the Africa office

of a multinational firm. Before returning to Ghana and starting his own financial

services company, a WAEN member received his MBA in the USA, and worked

for several years for a Fortune 500 financial services corporation in New York

(also written about in Fick 2002: 24–25). Before returning to Kenya, an EAEN

member owner of a speciality bookshop in an upmarket mall in Nairobi worked fora major non-governmental organization (NGO) in Atlanta, Georgia. A SAEN mem-

ber and architect in Botswana worked at an architecture and real estate development

firm in Wales before returning to Gaborone to start a similar business. A Ugandan

EAEN member is the co-owner of a housing construction company in Florida.

Table 1 shows that 95% of the network members are business owners, while 5%

are managers in large private corporations (often at the level of chief executive officer,

CEO, or chief operating officer, COO). Network members acquired their companies

in a variety of ways. Most (85%) started the business themselves; 11% acquired

the family business; 4% acquired a state-owned enterprise (e.g. a thread company

in Ethiopia, a glass factory in Ghana).6

They financed their business start-upsin a variety of ways. Some used savings from professional jobs or revenues generated

from another business. Others received loans and gifts from parents, other family

members, and spouses. Some were able to secure start-up financing and letters

of credit from banks because of their professional reputations.7 None received start-

up funding from government or donor agencies, but a few received grants for product

development and marketing from NGOs, government business promotion units, and

development agencies.

4.4 Business practices and activities

Network members incorporate modern management practices in their business

operations. They carry out market research to expand their customer base, use data

for planning business ventures, provide training to develop staff capacity, and delegate

responsibilities among employees. Network members also share services in kind:

a Ugandan member designed a marketing promotion campaign for another member’s

radio station. A Senegalese member created business feasibility studies for network

members in Mali. They also travel for business activities: 62% travelled outside Africa

on business. A study conducted during the Millennium Conference by On The

Frontier (OTF, an international consulting firm) showed that network members,

on average, made more trips abroad than entrepreneurs in a previous OTF surveyof five non-African countries. The OTF study (section 6) noted that 62% of respon-

dents spent $500 or more annually on resources to help them find solutions to their

company’s problems. The owner of a multi-location automobile service enterprise

in Kenya hired a Canadian consulting firm to organize a personnel development

retreat to upgrade employees’ management skills, improve team spirit, and formulate

a collective company vision.

4.4.1 Focus on one business

Ownership of several businesses to spread financial risks in uncertain economic

environments is common practice among entrepreneurs in Africa. This practice variesamong the network members interviewed. Table 1 shows that a large majority (72%)

own only one enterprise, while 28% own several companies. Some network members




add an auxiliary operation to augment or expand their firm’s functions. For example,

the owner/partner in an architectural firm added land development survey services

(Botswana); an electronics equipment manufacturer added design and installation

of electronic conference displays (Kenya); and an auditor/accountant added real

estate services (Senegal).

4.4.2 Employee hiring based on skills

Network members said that their hiring decisions are based on the prospective

employees’ skills and experience rather than on kinship. They may employ family

members but the relative must be qualified or trainable. Network members are

concerned about the insufficient supply of job applicants with high-level skills. A few

network members addressed this by setting up commercial schools that offered

training in business management and computer skills. A Ghanaian network member,

for example, provided on-site training for her employees. Another started a computer

training school; he plans to hire employees from among its graduates. The owner

of a coffee processing factory in Ethiopia started a school to improve English languageskills. The OTF study found that although network members were most concerned

about developing effective strategies to identify and target customers (which is also

the first concern of entrepreneurs in its five-country sample), the second most pressing

issue was finding skilled employees.

4.4.3 Trust among members and ethical business practices

Network members say that they are committed to ethical behaviour in their business

and professional lives. Business transparency and ethical behaviour were two

of the most important criteria for evaluating prospective members. A Senegalese

network member chairs that country’s chapter of Transparency International

8

thathas 300 members. He helped to write and implement a code of financial and account-

ing practices that was adopted by businesses in 20 Francophone countries. The net-

works foster trust among members within a country and between members in different

countries and regions. For example, another Senegalese network member declared

that when she travels to Nigeria, ‘I won’t even get off the plane unless I am met

at the airport by another network member’. This sentiment is consistent among

network members who believe that a major advantage of the networks is to build

trust among African business persons. A Ugandan network member feels comfortable

with his decision to venture into Zambia and Tanzania; he trusts the recommenda-

tions for prospective partners and advice about business conditions he received from

network members in those countries, even though he had not met them. One of thefounding members of WAEN said that his involvement in the network prompted him

to create a regional investment fund that could be accessed by WAEN members

in various countries. He said that the fund was possible because of trust built

among WAEN members.

To ensure fiscal transparency, most network members use accountants and

independent auditors to maintain business records. They do not co-mingle business

and family funds, practices often reported among entrepreneurs in Africa. To main-

tain the environment of trust, the network membership is selective. Prospective

members are identified through social and professional contacts. Before an individual

is invited to join, a background check is done. The person’s reputation and informa-tion about his/her business activities are important. Additional membership require-

ments include: company owner or employed as the company’s CEO or COO, personal




and professional integrity, willingness and ability to contribute time and financial

resources to the network (membership dues9 and costs of attending conferences).

For example, the head of the Ethiopian Enterprise Network said that he advanced

$100,000 from his own funds toward the cost of the pan-African Enterprise Network

Millennium Conference. Reimbursement for this expense from the donor agency took

10 months.

4.4.4 Sharing information

Network members keep in touch with their counterparts via cell phone, e-mail, and

fax, attend meetings, and participate in inter-country conferences. They openly

discuss their business operations to identify strategies that may resolve problems.

They are generally not secretive, as has been reported for other entrepreneurs

in Africa (Kallon 1990, Ukaegbu 1998). They regard their colleagues, even

in the same industry, as collaborators rather than as competitors, and they share

information. The OTF study concurred that members prefer to discuss solutions

to problems among themselves. Members help others to make business connectionsand they reach out to others for advice and assistance. They are willing to share

information about their lifestyles, network activities, and business operations, in gen-

eral, and were co-operative in responding to our questions. When a Ugandan member

decided to do product sourcing in South Africa and Kenya, he contacted EAEN and

SAEN for information and advice. EAEN set up a ‘Book Bank’ offering business and

entrepreneurship publications for members to reference. SAEN’s website (http://

www.saen.info) displays information (dated to 2002) about ‘what is happening

in the southern Africa region’.

According to one Senegalese network member, the main asset of the network is

‘the ability to pick up the phone and get the information you want from a networkmember; and that is forever, it does not go away’. A network member from Kenya

says that she regards the network as a way to make friends with people with whom she

shares interests. Only through the networks has she come to meet people from all over

Africa. Her family lives in western Kenya, near the Uganda border. When she visits

them, she drives to Kampala to have lunch with network members. She says that such

relationships have been more valuable to her than money. Network relationships have

persisted after the end of donor funding and the dissolution of the formal

organizational structure in some countries.

4.5 Types of businesses

The majority (70%) of network members own service firms. The services include

advertising, computer training, consulting services, financial services (such as banking

and investments), information-technology, legal services, printing, public relations,

and travel planning. There are fewer manufacturing firms. In the sample, 16%

own factories: 3% are involved in textiles production (e.g. a thread factory in

Ethiopia) and 13% manufacture products such as furniture, finished wood, and

glass containers (Ghana), electronic and solar equipment (Kenya), electrical control

systems (Uganda), and diamond jewellery (Botswana). Some 8% of those interviewed

are in agribusiness: coffee and cut flower exports (Ethiopia); poultry farming andagro-processing (Ghana); horticulture and flower exports (Kenya). A few network

members (6%) own retail stores, and one operates a construction company.




Among network members’ firms, even when the product is ‘traditional’ such

as an agricultural commodity, the way in which it is produced or marketed is inno-

vative.10 Growing ornamental flowers for European markets was not a major export

product in Africa until the mid-1980s (Kimenye 1996). While there are non-network

members in these enterprises, the largest rose growers in Zambia and Ethiopia

(a woman and a man, respectively) are network members. In Kenya, a femalenetwork member grows roses on 20 hectares in controlled-environment greenhouses.

After cutting, they are packaged and sent the same day by airfreight

to the Netherlands. In Ghana, a printing company established by a female network

member uses state-of-the-art computerized machinery, and has ventured into the

highly specialized process of printing government securities and financial documents.

An EAEN member and television station owner in Uganda produces investigative

reporting features for local news programmes (see also Fick 2002: 207–209),

occasionally purchased by global broadcasters BBC and CNN. The WAEN member

owner of a large-scale poultry processing plant began selling refrigerated dressed

poultry parts, an innovation for Ghanaian consumers, accustomed to buying wholelive chickens. Another Ghanaian WAEN member started a factory to manufacture

window frames and ornamental wooden doors. These products add value and increase

revenues, compared to the raw timber that his father had exported.

Size of businesses as indicated by number of employees and revenues varies widely

among network members. Number of employees ranged from three in a newly-

established travel agency in Kenya to over 400 at the Ghanaian poultry processing

plant. Revenue data were not requested in the interviews, although owners sometimes

volunteered them. During site visits, an estimate of the value of company assets and

revenues was made by observing physical facilities and equipment, types of product

or service, and reported marketing and distribution strategies. The nationalco-ordinator of WAEN reports that revenues of members’ businesses range from

US$300 000 to US$10 million annually. Orsini (2001) reports that network members’

businesses have five to 50 employees, and an average annual turnover of

US$1 000 000.

5. Findings: goals and achievements of the networks

The primary goals and objectives of the regional enterprise networks are:

(1) to expand regional (intra-Africa) trade; (2) to improve the business climate within

countries by maintaining ethical standards among members and serving as advocateson behalf of the business communities with government and other institutions; and (3)

to increase capital accumulation for business and investment through the creation

of venture capital funds (VCF).

The networks have developed alliances with older institutions to deepen regional

integration. These include regional economic institutions such as the Economic

Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Union E ´ conomique et Mone ´ taire

Ouest-Africaine (UEMOA), Southern African Development Community (SADC),

East African Community (EAC), and the Common Market for Eastern and

Southern Africa (COMESA). SAEN signed a ‘Declaration of Intent’ with

COMESA in 1999 for cross-border trade, agribusiness, tourism, telecommunications,human resources development, business and financial services, light manufacturing,

trade, and joint ventures for privatization (SAEN 1999: 1, Southern African




Development Commmunity [SADC] 2000). WAEN gained observer status

at ECOWAS meetings in the 1990s.11 A Kenyan member expressed his excitement

about the revival of COMESA, because it could stimulate trade among the countries

in eastern and southern Africa. He said, ‘Kenya has a market of only about 30 million

people but with COMESA, my market will include the 200 million people

in this region’.To put the need for the regional networks into perspective: from the 1970s to the

late 1990s, intra-African trade was only 4% of African exports and imports, increasing

to 7% from 1998 to 2000, and to 10% by 2002 (Dicken 2003). By comparison,

the percentage of intra-regional trade in other world regions is 67% in Western

Europe, 50% in Asia, 40% in North America, and 15% in Central America.

5.1 Goals and achievements: expanding regional (intra-African) trade

Regional enterprise networks want to enlarge the markets for African businesses

by expanding beyond local borders. With the exception of Nigeria, South Africa,

and Ethiopia most sub-Saharan African countries have small populations with

a limited consumer base. The former head of AEN, based in Ethiopia, said that

the enterprise network concept has made members more attuned to cross-cultural

and cross-country issues within Africa.

Now, they think at the macro-level and not just fixate on local issues. Macro issues havebeen introduced by the network members to other entrepreneurs in Ethiopia, who nowconsider selling and sourcing within the region instead of looking only to Europe, the USA,or Asia. They are beginning to realize that there is a lot of dynamism in Africa. You see

your own business within a regional context.

Since joining the enterprise networks some members are doing business with firms in

other African countries. However, other members contend that there is more ‘talking’

than actual business being transacted.

A Kenyan network member says that a Tanzanian network member helped her

to obtain a business licence in Tanzania in less than a month, a process that can take

up to a year. A Ugandan network member said that he joined EAEN to do business

and observed, ‘Now when I go to another country like Kenya, Zambia, or Burundi,

my entry points are better. It is almost like having a family member to deal with;

we can use their offices when we are there’. As a result, he now exports day-old chicks

to Burundi and plans to expand to Ethiopia. A Ghanaian member complained aboutnot receiving much help from the network in facilitating her transactions in Co ˆ te

d’Ivoire, but acknowledged being more comfortable travelling alone to this country

and others, because ‘you can always call the network’. A network member from

Uganda said that knowing network members in other countries increased

the productivity of his business travels to neighbouring countries.

Other examples include a magazine publisher in Uganda who negotiated the best

deal for printing through a network member in Nairobi. A Kenyan network member’s

advertising and public relations firm completed interior design projects in Uganda

and Tanzania, and designed corporate trade exhibitions in Tanzania. A Ugandan

network owner of an advertising/PR firm negotiated contracts for public relationswork at branch offices in Kenya. He also collaborated with a Kenyan network mem-

ber to design animated electronic outdoor displays and indoor exhibitions. Members




share information and provide business opportunities for each other within their own

countries. Through his network member contacts, a lawyer in Kampala expanded his

client base to other parts of Uganda. Members say that their experiences show that

the networks are more effective than traditional business organizations such as cham-

bers of commerce and manufacturers’ associations (to which only a few of them

belong). Even though they are eligible, most network members neither join suchchambers nor attend their meetings.12 They also belong to professional associations

(e.g. architects) and sometimes to employers’ federations.

Removing trade barriers that exist between the Francophone and Anglophone

countries is a goal adopted by WAEN. Senegalese network members note that some

business persons in the Francophone countries still prefer trading with France, but

network members in Senegal want to see more business partnerships with firms

in non-Francophone countries. To this end, the Senegalese owner of a water bottling

company collaborates with network members in Ghana and Ethiopia who own

related businesses. NetForce is a sub-network of accounting firms within WAEN.

Spearheaded by a women member, NetForce standardized accounting practicesand formats at the largest accountancy firms in eight Anglophone and

Francophone West African countries.

Through SAEN, a venture capitalist from Zimbabwe invests in a manufacturing

project in Malawi. The SAEN website notes that cross-border achievements include:

Malawian and Zambian network members together formulated the legal structure

of the Malawi Stock Exchange; Mauritius network members created a database for

investors in the region; Mozambique network members staged a forum with

the private sector and government; Namibian and Zimbabwean network members

finalized a joint venture project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

(http://www.saen.info/saen/frameset.htm).

5.2 Goals and achievements: advocacy with governments and

regional/international institutions

One of the basic tenets of network membership stated in newsletters and other

publications is that the national networks are ‘strictly apolitical’ (WAEN 1993,

EAEN 1999, SAEN 1999, Orsini 2001). The networks do not support or campaign

for particular parties or politicians. However, ‘apolitical’ as used by network members

does not mean steering clear of public engagement. They do not believe in ‘cronyism’

and political patronage; and they do not take kickbacks or engage in practices suchas bribery and giving gifts to influence government officials.

A Senegalese network member meets with the president and other government

officials in his role as head of a national professional association. The government

hired him as a consultant on urbanization projects, for which his company provided

technical expertise. He said that he would not ‘rubber stamp’ projects that would

be contrary to the public good just to gain an advantage for his own business.

The Senegalese member of the WAEN secretariat said that the larger issues of global

strategies and informed economic policies are more important than simply brokering

business deals. Network members in Uganda gained a seat on the board that regulates

import taxes. They use this position to advise private sector entrepreneurs onhow to manage and schedule their tax obligations. The Uganda network is a

member of the Private Sector Foundation (PSF) that lobbies for better business




regulations, equitable tariffs, etc. When asked about a Ugandan network member

who was running for parliament, Uganda network members explained that business

interests should be represented in parliament. In 2000, Botswana Enterprise Network

members who own information technology firms formed an organization that advo-

cates for indigenous technology companies, Citizen-Owned Businesses in Information

Technology [COBIT]. They share strategies to compete for government contractsagainst foreign-owned firms (COBIT 2000). Their goal is to be allocated a percentage

of all government contracts.

Network members and national chapters have used network conferences to serve

as forums to communicate their interests, as well as to listen to their heads of state.

President Museveni spoke at the EAEN workshop in Kampala, Uganda in 1999;

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles opened the Millennium Conference in 2000;

President Santos (also president of the African Union that year) opened a regional

meeting in Angola in 2002 (EAEN 1999, 2000, AEN 2000, SAEN 2002).

A Ghanaian network member said, ‘We want to achieve a voice and do business

without being an appendage to government’. Hence, they see no contradictionin stating that ‘African entrepreneurs must join together with government and civil

society to ensure that corruption is stemmed’ (EAEN 1998: 2). Regional enterprise

networks want to redefine the rules and manner of engaging government officials, and

increase public-private sector communication in an open, ethical manner. They feel

that this will improve the conduct of business and benefit the private sector as a whole.

This contrasts with how ‘business politics’ is usually played, i.e. to benefit specific

business owners.

The regional enterprise networks advocate for business-friendly laws and regula-

tions, government policies, and programmes. From an analyst’s viewpoint, this may

seem ‘political’ because network members participate in government dialogueat the highest levels. However, the concept of being ‘political’ in Africa usually

means to engage in political cronyism, rent-seeking, bribery, and corruption. These

are activities that the networks work against. Network members point out that they

reject government patronage. They initiate and maintain dialogue with those officials

who have the power to reform the regulatory environment, but members are open and

transparent in their activities.

5.3 Goals and achievements: national and regional venture capital funds

Another goal of the national and regional networks is to raise investment capital.In 2000 a Kenyan network member organized an international conference

in Nairobi that was co-sponsored by the World Bank’s International Finance

Corporation (IFC). Network members, representatives of major donor agencies,

and officials of Kenyan banks participated. WAEN established the West African

Enterprise Fund (WAEF) in 2000 and raised $15 million of private capital to promote

regional trade and investment (Orsini 2001, Ofori-Atta 2003). WAEF invested capital

in a bank in The Gambia, The Trust Bank Ltd. This investment was the first cross-

border listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange. A Zimbabwean network member spoke

at the Millennium Conference on strategies to create successful venture capital funds

(EnterpriseAfrica 2000: 32–34, Spring 2000). Zimbabwe network members investedVCF contributions in a national money market account that paid a 60% return

in 2000 (high inflation meant that this was not a large amount). The Zambian




network has an investment fund, and the Ugandan network created a fund which

makes short-term, non-collateralized loans to members. Future studies can evaluate

the impact of these VCFs as they mature.

6. Comparative data: findings from the On the Frontier(OTF) survey

On the Frontier (OTF), an international consulting company based in Washington,

DC, conducted a survey of network members at the pan-African Network’s

Millennium Conference in 2000. Data were collected on age, gender, education,

type of business, number of employees, business practices, Internet usage, networking

behaviour, and travel. Sixty surveys were completed, analysed, and the findings were

presented at the conference.13

OTF compared its data from network members with data from its previous survey

of 1364 entrepreneurs from five countries: Brazil, India, Mexico, South Africa, andVietnam (OTF 2000). The average age of network members in the OTF study was

older than the entrepreneurs in their five-country study: 10% were 20–29 years old,

43% were 30–39 years; 40% were 40–49 years, and 7% were 50–60 years. Compared

to entrepreneurs in the five-country study, network members travelled abroad more

often (40% make five or more trips/year; 30% make three to four trips per year; 17%

make one to two per year; 8% travel less frequently; and 5% reported that they had

never travelled abroad). OTF found that network members’ number one business

priority is to develop effective marketing strategies. The second most pressing issue

is to find skilled employees. In the OTF study, 62% of the respondents reported that

they spent $500 or more annually on resources to help them find solutions to businessproblems. Compared to the entrepreneurs in the five-country study, network members

spent more on problem solving.

We compared OTF data with our study data. Of the 60 network members

responding to the OTF survey, 62% had undertaken graduate study, 32% were

college graduates, and 6% had some experience of college. This is consistent with

our data showing high levels of education among network members. The OTF study

of network members had a preponderance of managers (90%), versus owners/presi-

dents/CEOs (10%). This contrasts with our data in which most (95%) are owners

rather than managers. However, we targeted network members who owned their own

businesses, whereas the OTF survey was passed out to all network members attending

the Millennium Conference. For types of businesses, the OTF study recorded 78%in services, 12% in manufacturing, 2% in agriculture, and 7% in ‘other’ businesses.

This is similar to our data reported in section 4.5. The majority of companies

in the OTF study are small to medium (62% had fewer than 25 employees; 20%

had 25–50 employees; 10% had 50–100; 5% had 100–200, and 3% had 200–500

employees).

The OTF study found that 64% of its sample was involved in export trade.

The responses indicated that these network members were more export-oriented

than the entrepreneurs in the five-country study. The majority of network members

in our study also want to export to other countries and increase intra-African trade.

In terms of contacts between network members, the OTF asked about the frequencyof contacts by phone, fax and e-mail. The data showed that 35% had a few/week;

27% had a few/month; 22% had one or more/day; 10% had one/month; 3% had less




than one/month; and 2% had one/week. The study asked about the use

of the Internet: 95% used it for educational purposes; 91% thought it important

to their business; 88% considered it to be a good source of business advice; and

86% said that it was a worthwhile expense. E-mail and accessing market information

were the most common activities carried out on the Internet by the members sampled.

One-third had a web site for promotional purposes. The OTF data supportsthe emphasis placed on networking and communication by the 57 network members

in our study.14

7. Discussion and assessment of network members

and the regional enterprise networks

7.1 Characteristics of network members

Most of the members of the enterprise networks are relatively young and welleducated. They chose to go into business for themselves rather than to become

employees. The tendency of young educated people to start businesses appears

to be a global phenomenon. A 1997 poll of Generation Xers in the USA (men and

women born between 1961 and 1981) revealed that twice as many wanted to start

a business as wanted to become executives in a large corporation, and four times

as many preferred self-employment over holding an important position in politics

or government (Miniter 1997). In Europe, young people are reversing the deeply

ingrained cultural aversion to risk-taking. A poll in Sweden showed that 32%

of business students want to own their own companies within three to 10 years

following graduation (Kahn 1999). China is also witnessing an emergence of youngentrepreneurs in its privatizing economy. A study showed that the average age

of first-time Chinese entrepreneurs in 1999 was 37 years, and for women it was 34

years (Pistrui et al . 1999).

7.1.1 Women’s representation in the networks

An equitable gender representation is a noteworthy goal because African women are

involved in all aspects of the entrepreneurial landscape from owners of traditional

micro-enterprises to owners/CEOs of medium and large firms. Most networks have

women members and some have women chairs. However, from its establishment

in 1998 the seven-member Ethiopian network had no women members. This was

in spite of the fact that the head of the 7000-member Ethiopian Chamberof Commerce in 2000 was a woman, and there are a number of large businesses

owned by women (e.g. a construction company, a transport company, and a retail

supermarket chain). In 2002, the Ethiopian network finally invited one woman

(an attorney who headed an NGO) to become a member, but she declined.

The Uganda and Senegal networks had two or three women (18% and 17%, respect-

ively, of their total membership), while women in the Ghanaian network were 40%

of its membership.15

7.1.2 Attitudes of network members

Are the network members developing their own economic strategies for themselvesand their countries, or have they merely accepted the donors’ promotion of Western-

style capitalism? Although donors began the process of capacitating the




networks, new generation entrepreneurs had already adopted ideas and strategies they

observed to be successful in other countries and adapted them to the conditions in

their own countries. According to network newsletters, a small group of entrepreneurs

were already meeting to construct a different business ethos in the early 1990s before

the bilateral and multilateral donors helped to initiate the networks (WAEN 1993,

EAEN 2000). This group was the precursor to the Regional Enterprise Networks andtheir business and economic development ideologies were adaptive, rather than

merely adoptive of ideologies from developed countries.

The membership of the networks is small considering the large number of entre-

preneurs in each country. Criteria for membership are selective and, accordingly,

the networks seem to be like elitist clubs with exclusive membership practices.

Network members argue that their commitment to ethics, transparency,

accountability, and trust requires strict scrutiny of prospective members and that

the evaluation process is not quick. Orsini (2001: 8) explains that maintaining a highly

selective membership promotes strong cohesion among members, and this offsets

the ‘traditional lack of trust among entrepreneurs who are not from the same family’or ethnic group. Murphy (2002) reports that entrepreneurial networks help

to establish trust and stimulate business activity.

Are these network entrepreneurs elites? When applied to Africans, the label ‘elite’

is usually inferred as being negative. African elites are viewed as pursuing their own

interests without regard to the public good. Their pursuit of material possessions

in societies of scarcity is decried as predatory. However, the network members believe

that they have improved business practices, which will benefit African economies.

Network members are upwardly mobile entrepreneurs who are interested in economic

and political reform. Their business ethics embrace profit-making not profiteering.

Their aim is to conduct business and advocate for policies that may contributeto economic equity. They are not elites in the more standard way (i.e. military

or government leaders, aristocratic backgrounds, wealthy traders, etc.), although

a few have such family backgrounds. Network members are ‘elites’ in Africa because

they are among the tiny minority who have acquired college/graduate degrees and

operate successful companies. Whereas well-educated persons in African societies may

have previously entered government service or worked for large corporations, the new

generation considers self-employment to be an attractive opportunity, rather than

an option of last resort. Studies show that educated entrepreneurs generally have

more successful businesses in terms of revenues and longevity (McDade and

Malecki 1997, Goedhuys and Sleuwaegen 2000). Network members emphasize

working hard, being self-starters, having business savvy, using network contacts,being transparent, and refusing political patronage.

7.1.3 Business experience

As noted in section 4.3 almost one-half (42%) of network members worked previously

in major national firms in their own countries, one-third (33%) worked in foreign

firms overseas or multinational corporations in Africa before starting their own

companies. The other 25% worked in family-owned firms. However, their experiences

at firms in advanced economies (with secure financial institutions, sufficient capital,

surplus of qualified employees, reliable communication, transportation, and other

infrastructure) may not be adaptable to conditions in most African economies.However, network members are not complacent with these experiences, so they

make efforts to update their knowledge. The enterprise networks fulfil some of these




needs by organizing short-term courses and workshops, along with sharing of informa-

tion among themselves. The knowledge and experience of the owner of a small firm

are particularly significant because the personal characteristics of the entrepreneur

impact all aspects of the firm’s operations. It is even more significant than for a large

firm where the personal characteristics of the president or managing director have

a lesser effect on overall operations (Olomi 1999). Competitive advantage and successof firms lie in their utilization of human capital (Manu 1999). This underscores

the relevance of the high level of education and previous career experience among

network members in this study.

7.1.4 Business practices

The educational background and prior business experience of network members

inform the way in which they conduct business. They emphasize ‘modern’ manage-

ment practices obtained from formal education such as writing a detailed business

plan; hiring employees based on experience and formal qualifications rather than

kinship; hiring consultants to conduct employee relations workshops; using mediaadvertising and public relations campaigns to reach a larger consumer market; adopt-

ing standard accounting and auditing methods for record keeping. They struggle to

promote transparency and ethical business behaviour. However, conducting business

in this manner is a challenge in an environment where a legacy of behind-the-scenes

deals, cronyism, and political patronage is entrenched. Their influence on the business

climate might be more extensive if network members and the new generation formed

stronger linkages with owners of micro and small informal and formal sector

enterprises that comprise the vast majority of the entrepreneurial landscape.

Network members are amenable to increasing their business activities with

members in other countries, but they are challenged by institutional constraintssuch as Francophone and Anglophone divisions, government regulations and tariffs,

and inadequate transportation and communication infrastructure. They counter

by using technology (cell phones and Internet) and travelling to foster in-person

contacts. However, the necessity of travel because of inadequate communications

infrastructure adds to their cost of doing business.

7.1.5 Types of businesses

A criticism of the networks is that the selection of members and their businesses is not

representative of the diversity of businesses in their countries. Few of the businesses are

manufacturers and that limits opportunities for backward and forward linkages. Some

members want only a few types of businesses in each network to avoid competition,while members in other national networks want to have a critical mass of businesses

in a few specialities so that they can collaborate. As membership increases, it is likely

that there will be an increase in the variety of businesses in the networks.

7.2 Discussion and assessment of regional enterprise networks

7.2.1 Lack of integration with the larger traditional and informal business sectors

Network members view themselves as different from the majority of small-scale formal

business owners and all informal sector entrepreneurs, and they are. Networkmembers regard these sectors as inefficient, even referring to them as ‘backwards’.

However, these ‘backwards’ enterprises supply up to 90% of the goods and services




in the domestic economies of most African countries. In a few instances, network

members have utilized them as sources of primary inputs, but they have not taken

the lead to establish linkages that could upgrade these enterprises. If the objective

of the networks is to strengthen business linkages within Africa, this is where their

efforts could be most productive.

7.2.2 Idealistic versus realistic goals of the networks

Network members advocate and, indeed, try to adhere to their concepts of an ethical

business environment. Some may appear to have a ‘holier than thou’ attitude toward

conventional business practices. However, their stance is more pragmatic than

ideological; they truly believe that transparency and honesty promote efficiency and

strengthen the business community. They are concerned with results, not just

ideology. Future studies should query whether or not African entrepreneurs

on a broader scale perceive the need to change business practices and behaviours.

8. Concluding remarks

This study evaluates challenges that the networks and their members face. These

include: (1) the country, regional, and pan-African networks are small; (2) some

country networks have few or no women members; (3) network members’ businesses

are not representative of the diversity of businesses in the economy; (4) network

members have not established linkages with traditional formal or informal sector

small-scale entrepreneurs, which comprise most of the entrepreneurial landscape;

(5) network members have not generated a large volume of business activity; and(6) their impacts are difficult to measure.

Currently, the end of donor funding led to the closing of WAEN and EAEN

regional secretariats, and inter-regional conferences have ceased. In a special

arrangement with SAEN, donor funding continues along with intra-regional meetings

and conferences. Most network members maintain their social and professional

relationships in spite of the cessation of official activities in some of the national and

regional networks. They continue to engage in commercial and investment activities.

In addition, they continue to advocate on behalf of the private sector with govern-

ments. Major expansion of regional trade and regional economic integration remains

a future goal rather than current reality. However, this small but growing segment

of the African entrepreneurial landscape may serve as a catalyst to improve economicconditions and stimulate private sector-led development.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the University of Florida’s Center for Business Education

and Research (CIBER) and Opportunity Fund Grant Program for providing funding

for research trips to Botswana, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda,

and the Center for African Studies for one author’s trip to Senegal. We would also liketo acknowledge the assistance of Dr Delores Koenig who conducted the interviews

with network members in Mali.




Notes

1 WAEN is comprised of 13 countries: Benin; Burkina Faso; Cape Verde; Chad; Cote d’Ivoire;The Gambia; Guinea; Mali; Mauritania; Niger; Nigeria; Senegal; and Togo. EAEN has seven countries:Burundi; Djibouti; Ethiopia; Kenya; Rwanda; Tanzania; and Uganda. SAEN has 12 countries: Angola;Botswana; Lesotho; Madagascar; Malawi; Mauritius; Mozambique; Namibia; South Africa; Swaziland;

Zambia; and Zimbabwe. Each Regional Enterprise Network is headquartered in the capital of one of theconstituent countries (WAEN in Accra; EAEN in Addis Ababa; and SAEN in Lusaka). The pan-Africannetwork (AEN) was in Addis Ababa.

2 The original regional enterprise networks websites were: WAEN (http://www.waenonline.com), EAEN(http://www.ugandacapitalmarkets.co.ug), and SAEN (http://www.saen.net). WAEN and EAENwebsites have not been active since 2002. SAEN now uses (http://www.saen.info), although the mostcurrent information is from 2002.

3 The networks receive support from a consortium of donors: USAID; Canadian InternationalDevelopment Agency (CIDA); French Agence Francaise pour le Development; Belgian InternationalDevelopment Agency; Swiss International Development Agency; the World Bank, and OECD(Orsini 1999, 2001, Light and Chibembe 2003). The approximate amounts and duration of donorcontributions were: WAEN, US$3 250 000 (1992–2000); EAEN, US$855 000 (1998–2000); andSAEN US$970 000 (1998–2000), with an additional US$500 000 for SAEN after 2000 (Orsini 2001: 25).

4 In using the WinMaxÕ programme, the analyst selects key phrases from the inputted text and assignsthem to predetermined categories. The profile of network members is modelled from the demographiccharacteristics in the age, gender, education, and kinship categories. The business profiles of the networkmembers are derived from these categories: type of business; history and longevity; business transactions;business culture (ethics and practices); constraints and enablers; and future goals.

5 Representatives interviewed from these support agencies are as follows: Botswana: Empretec, CitizenOwned Businesses in Information Technology (COBIT); Ethiopia: Association of Women Exporters;Ghana: Empretec, Amex, Women’s World Banking, Association of Ghana Industries, GhanaianAssociation of Women Entrepreneurs; Kenya: International Finance Corporation (IFC) and AfricaProject Development Facility (APDF) of the World Bank, Micro-enterprise Support Programme(MESP), K-REP Holding (financial services and business development), US Commercial Service,USAID; South Africa: Enterprise Florida, Business Women of South Africa, Transnet, Whiphold,

Johannesburg Stock Exchange and its electronic trading coordinator, Strate; Uganda: US CommercialService, USAID, Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Ltd (UWEAL), Private Sector Foundation, Uganda

Export Promotion Board, Uganda Small-Scale Industries Association (USSIA), African DevelopmentFoundation (US-funded), Uganda Manufacturing Association. Also included were officialsin government agencies, industry and manufacturer associations, chambers of commerce, banks andlending agencies (NGOs), professional associations, and other international agencies(e.g. African Development Fund, World Bank agencies). Various individuals provided personal andagency assessments of business conditions in the respective countries. They were identified throughreferrals from network members, donor agencies, membership lists of businesses and other organizations,previous encounters at conferences, etc. Also consulted were publications from the above and otheragencies, including the US Department of State’s US Commercial Guides and Country Reports,US Government Economic Outlooks for Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda.

6 The thread company had been a family business until the 1970s when it was appropriated by a socialistregime. The glass factory was purchased from the national government during the 1980s as partof the SAP divestiture scheme.

7 Some earned high salaries in firms such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs before returning

to Ghana or Kenya to start their own businesses. A few are currently employed with established foreignor domestic firms in Africa, and plan to use their savings to establish their own enterprises.

8 Transparency International (TI) was founded in 1993. Headquartered in Germany, it has chapters in 85countries. It claims to be the only international non-governmental organization devoted to combatingcorruption. In the international arena, TI raises awareness about the damaging effects of corruption,advocates policy reform, works towards the implementation of multilateral conventions and monitorscompliance by governments, corporations and banks. At the national level, chapters work to increaselevels of accountability and transparency, monitor the performance of key institutions and pressingfor necessary reforms in a non-party political manner.

9 National networks charge annual dues of US$250–500 per member, and each national networkcontributes $2500 annually to its regional network.

10 Pedersen notes that ‘an important part of the business services in developing countries serves agriculture’(1998: 1). This promotes product specialization by adding value to the primary commodity. Network

members add value to primary agricultural commodities with business services such as brandingornamental flowers for niche markets; packaging processed poultry parts rather than whole birds forsmaller urban households; supplying chicken feathers to bedding manufacturers; and crafting wood doorsand home decorations instead of exporting raw timber.




11 SAEN is working closely with key strategic allies such as COMESA, SADC, and the United Nations’Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) to help to fulfil its mission. It also works closely with nationaleconomic agencies and many donor agencies, including the OECD, the World Bank, USAID, the AgenceFrancaise de Developement, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the SwissCooperation, the Belgian Cooperation, and the European Union (EU). SAEN also has business tiesto investor organizations worldwide, including the US Corporate Council on Africa, the GermanAfrika Verein, the British-African Business Association, the Malaysian South-South Corporation, and

the Singapore Trade Development Board (http://www.saen.info).12 An exception is in The Gambia where a network member chairs the Chamber of Commerce.13 It is not known if the presenters made other uses of these OTF data.14 When compared to OTF surveys of entrepreneurs in other regions, the OTF reported that network

members responded ‘yes’ more often to the question, ‘I often find it helpful to exchange business ideaswith other business people from inside my industry’. The network members responded ‘no’ more oftento the question, ‘I prefer to do as much problem-solving as I can without turning to other sourcesfor help’.

15 SAEN 2002’s mission statement specifically addresses gender, although there is no assessment of progress:‘SAEN is a pro-active and dynamic private sector institution that in line with its vision seeks partnershipswith the public sector, civic society and the international community, to improve the business climateand economic productivity. Further SAEN, through its Women’s cluster and HIV/AIDS cluster seeksto contribute to redressing gender imbalances and contributing to the fight against the HIV/AIDS

pandemic that is rapidly eroding the regions human resource base’ (http://www.saen.info).

References

Adenikinju, A., Soderling, L., Soludo, C. and Varoudakis, A. 2002 Manufacturing competitivenessin Africa, Economic Development and Cultural Change, 50: 643–665.

African Enterprise Network [AEN] 2000 Engaging African entrepreneurs: enterprise networks’ firstpan-African conference. Conference Report, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. OECD Working Paper , VIII: 98.

Agbaw, M. 2000 ‘Buying futures’: the upsurge of female entrepreneurship (Leiden: Universiteit LeidenResearch School of Asian, African and Amerindian Studies).

Agbodeka, F. 1992 An Economic History of Ghana (Accra: Ghana Universities Press).

Arnould, E. 1995 West African marketing channels, in Sherry, J. (ed.), Contemporary Marketing and Consumer Behaviour: An Anthropological Sourcebook (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications) pp. 109–161.

Arzeni, S. 1997 Entrepreneurship and job creation, OECD Observer , 209: 18–20.Aspaas, H. 1998 Heading households and heading businesses: rural Kenyan women in the informal sector,

Professional Geographer , 50 (2): 192–204.Beveridge, A. and Obserschall, A. 1979 African Businessmen and Development in Zambia (Princeton,

NJ: Princeton University Press).Bowditch, N. 1999 The Last Emerging Market: From Asian Tigers to African Lions (Westport, CT: Praeger).Business in Ghana 1996 Networking West Africa, Business in Ghana, January: 23–35.Charmes, J. 1999 Micro-enterprises in West Africa, in King, K. and McGrath, S. (eds), Enterprise in Africa:

Between Poverty and Growth (London: Intermediate Technology Publications) pp. 71–82.Choudhury, S. R. 1999 Is privatisation really the answer? Governments in sub-Saharan Africa discover

the benefits of privatisation, African Business, 248: 26–30.Citizen-Owned Businesses in Information Technology (COBIT) 2000 Local publication, Gaborone.Clark, G. 1994 Onions Are My Husband (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press).Coulter, M. 2000 Entrepreneurship in Action (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall).Courcelle, M. and de Lattre, A. 1996 The enterprise impulse in West Africa, OECD Observer , 203: 32–34.Daniels, L., Mead, D. and Musinga, M. 1995 Employment and income in micro- and small enterprises

in Kenya: results of a 1995 survey, GEMINI Research Paper 26 . Nairobi: K-REP.Dicken, P. 2003 Global Shift: Reshaping the Economic Map in the 21st Century (New York: Guilford Press).East African Enterprise Network [EAEN]. 1998 Profiles, EAEN Newsletter , 2 (October): 2.East African Enterprise Network [EAEN]. 1999 New generation entrepreneurs address regional cooperation

in East Africa, EAEN Newsletter , 2 (February): 1.East African Enterprise Network [EAEN] 2000 New generation entrepreneurs address regional cooperation

in East Africa, EAEN Newsletter , 2 (March): 5.EnterpriseAfrica 2000 Against all odds: a fund grows in Zimbabwe (Special Report), EnterpriseAfrica,

1 (Third Quarter): 32–34.

Esbin, H. B. 1994 The Marketing and Promotion of Jua Kali by Government and Institutional Partners (Geneva: ILO).Ferrand, D. 1996 A study of the missing middle in Kenya. IDS Working Paper 515, Instituteof Development Studies, Nairobi.

Fick, D. 2002 Entrepreneurship in Africa: A Study of Successes (Westport, CT: Quorum Books).




Goedhuys, M. and Sleuwaegen, L. 2000 Entrepreneurship and growth of entrepreneurial firms in Coted’Ivoire, Journal of Development Studies, 36 (3): 123–142.

Gray, C. and McPherson, M. 2001 The leadership factor in African policy reform and growth, EconomicDevelopment and Cultural Change, 49: 707–740.

Hagos, G. 2000 Gender divide stifles women entrepreneurs. Pan African News Agency. Postedon the Internet: 2 November 2000. http://allafrica.com.

Hart, G. 1972 African Entrepreneurship (Grahamstown: Institute of Social and Economic Research, RhodesUniversity).

Horn, N. 1994 Cultivating Customers: Market Women in Harare, Zimbabwe (Boulder, CO: Lynne RienerPublishers).

House-Midamba, B. and Ekechi, F. (eds) 1995 African Market Women and Economic Power (Westport,CT: Greenwood Press).

Jackson, P. 2002 Business Development in Asia and Africa: The Role of Government Agencies (New York: PalgravePublishers).

Jalloh, A. 1999 African Entrepreneurship: Muslim Fula Merchants in Sierra Leone (Columbus, OH: OhioUniversity Centre for International Studies).

Jalloh, A. and Falola, T. (eds) 2002 Black Business and Economic Power (Rochester, NY: Universityof Rochester Press).

Janssens-Bevernage, A. 2002 Capacity-building for private-sector development, The Southern AfricanEnterprise Network (SAEN ). Discussion Paper 38 (Maastricht: ECDPM).

Kahn, J. 1999 Suddenly, start-ups are chic (entrepreneurship in Europe), Fortune, 139: 3–10.Kallon, K. 1990 The Economics of Sierra Leonean Entrepreneurship (Lanham, MD: University Press of America).Kibera, F. N. and Kibera, L. W. 1999 Female entrepreneurship in small scale enterprises in Kenya, in

Kinunda-Rutashobya, L. and Olomi, D. R. (eds), African Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (Dar es Salaam: DUP Ltd) pp. 227–247.

Kibiriti, P. 2000 Editor’s Note: Of winners and losers, Enterprise Africa, 1 (Fourth Quarter): 4.Kibiriti, P. 1999 Entrepreneurship in East Africa, The EAEN Newsletter , 2 (3): 2.Kimenye, L. 1996 Analysis of Smallholder Marketing and Input Procurement Systems and Adoption of Horticultural

Technologies in Kibwezi (Nairobi: Database Institute).King, K. and McGrath, S. (eds) 1999 Enterprise in Africa: Between Poverty and Growth (London: Intermediate

Technology Publications).Kinunda-Rutashobya, L. and Olomi, D. R. (eds) 1999 African Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development

(Dar es Salaam: DUP Ltd).K’obonyo, P. O. 1999 Flexible specialization and small enterprise development in Kenya: issues and

problems, in Kinunda-Rutashobya, L. and Olomi, D. R. (eds), African Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (Dar es Salaam: DUP Ltd) pp. 121–138.

Light, C. and Chibembe, N. 2003 SAEN ICT Work Plan October 2002–January 2003. USAID RegionalCentre for Southern, Strategic Objective: Regional Market Integration Activity Plan.

MacGaffey, J. 1987 Entrepreneurs and Parasites (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).Mandel, J. 2003 Negotiating expectations in the field: gatekeepers, research fatigue and cultural biases,

Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 24 (2): 198–210.Manu, G. 1999 Enterprise development in Africa: Strategies for impact and growth, in King, K. and

McGrath, S. (eds), Enterprise in Africa: Between Poverty and Growth (London: Intermediate TechnologyPublications) pp. 107–120.

Marsden, K. 1990 African Entrepreneurs: Pioneers of Development . Discussion Paper No. 9 (Washington,DC: The World Bank).

McDade, B. and Malecki, E. 1997 Entrepreneurial networking: industrial estates in Ghana, Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 88 (3): 262–272.

McDade, B. E. 2003 Industry, business enterprises, and entrepreneurship in the development process,in Aryeetey-Attoh, S. (ed.), Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall)pp. 406–424.

McDade, B. 2004 Personal communication by email with former head of West African Enterprise Network(WAEN).

Mead, D. C. 1999 MSEs tackle both poverty and growth (but in differing proportions), in King, K. andMcGrath, S. (eds), Enterprise in Africa: Between Poverty and Growth (London: Intermediate TechnologyPublications) pp. 61–70.

Miniter, R. 1997 Generation X does business (new generation’s business engagement), The AmericanEnterprise, 8 (4): 38–39.

Mshomba, R. 2000 Africa in the Global Economy (Boulder, CO: Lynne Riener).Murinde, V. and Woldie, A. 2003 African Business Finance and Development Policy (New York: The Haworth

Press).

Murphy, J. 2002 Networks, trust, and innovation in Tanzania’s manufacturing sector, World Development ,30: 591–619.Ofori-Atta, K. 2003 Personal communication with the co-founder of the West African Enterprise Fund

(WAEF).




Olomi, D. R. 1999 Scope and role of research on entrepreneurship and small business development,in Kinunda-Rutashobya, L. and Olomi, D. R. (eds), African Entrepreneurship and Small BusinessDevelopment (Dar es Salaam: DUP Ltd) pp. 53–63.

On the Frontier (OTF). 2000 Results of survey conducted at the Millennium Conference, organizationalmeeting of the African Enterprise Network (AEN), October, Addis Ababa.

Orsini, D. 1999 The enterprise network initiative: a new generation of African entrepreneurs emerges, paperpresented at USA-Africa Trade and Investment Symposium, Orlando, FL, July.

Orsini, D. 2001 Case study of East African Enterprise Network, Southern African Enterprise Network, WestAfrican Enterprise Network, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),DCD (2000)10/ANN5.

Orsini, D., Courcelle, M. and Brinkerhoff, D. 1996 Increasing private sector capacity for policy dialogue:the West African Enterprise Network, World Development , 24: 1453–1466.

Pedersen, P. 1998 Business services in the globalising African economies, Centre for Development ResearchWorking Paper 98.

Pistrui, D., Huang, W., Oksoy, D., Zhao, J., and Welsch, H. 1999 The characteristics and attributes of new Chinese entrepreneurs and their emerging enterprises, Business Forum, Winter–Spring: 31–38.

Premaratne, S. 2001 Networks, resources, and small business growth: the experience in Sri Lanka, Journal of Small Business Management , 39 (4): 363.

Ramachandran, V. and Shah, M. K. 1999 Minority entrepreneurs and firm performance, Sub-SaharanAfrica. Journal of Development Studies, 36 (2): 71–87.

Robertson, C. 1997 Trouble Showed the Way: Women, Men and Trade in the Nairobi Area, 1890–1990(Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press).Schulpen, L. and Gibbon, P. 2001 Private Sector Development: Policies, Practises, and Problems. CDR Policy

Paper. Copenhagen: Centre for Development Research. http://www.cdr.dk.Snyder, M. 2000 Women in Africa Economies: From Burning Sun to Boardroom (Kampala: Fountain Publishers).South African Enterprise Network [SAEN] 1999 Building a southern African regional market: issues for

the private sector, Final Report on SAEN First Regional Conference (Mauritius: The Mauritius EnterpriseNetwork).

South African Enterprise Network [SAEN] 2002. http://www.saen.info/saen/frameset.htm.Southern African Development Community (SADC) 2000 Industry and Trade (Gaborone: SADC).Spring, A. 2000 Field notes from the Pan-African Enterprise Network Millennium Conference,

Addis Ababa, October.Spring, A. 2002 Gender and the range of entrepreneurial strategies: the ‘typical’ and the ‘new’ generation

of women entrepreneurs, in Jalloh, A. and Falola, T. (eds), Black Business and Economic Power (Rochester,

NY: University of Rochester Press) pp. 381–401.Spring, A. and McDade, B. (eds) 1998 African Entrepreneurship: Theory and Reality (Gainesville, FL: University

Press of Florida).Thornton, P. 1999 The sociology of entrepreneurship, Annual Review of Sociology: 19.Todaro, M. 2000 Economic Development (Reading, MA: Addison Wesley).Ukaegbu, C. 1998 Managers and their entrepreneurs: power and authority in indigenous private

manufacturing firms in Nigeria, in Spring, A. and. McDade, B. (eds), African Entrepreneurship: Theoryand Reality (Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida) pp. 181–198.

West African Enterprise Network [WAEN] 1993 Facing the issues, Final Report on the Regional Conferenceon the West African Private Sector (Accra: The Enterprise Network of Ghana).

Wohlmuth, K. and Wauschkunh, M. 2001 West African Enterprise Network (WAEN), in The AfricanDevelopment Perspectives Yearbook Volume B. Africa’s Reintegration into the World Economy (New Brunswick,NJ: Transaction Publishers) pp. 841–854.


new african entrepreneurs_a

Documents