Boosting Africas entrepreneurs The continents entrepreneurs are helping Africa to capitalize on its vast natural resources and make its economies the worlds fastest growing and most dynamic. From high finance, to sewing cooperatives and small-scale food processors, heres a look into how Africas businesspeople are making new products and creating jobs and how they can be helped. With almost 200 million Africans aged between 15 and 24, the continent has the youngest population in the world, and this number is expected to double by 2045, said the report. New jobs are urgently needed. “The long-term perspective is good if African governments can effectively tackle the hurdles young people face,” said the report. Many of the young people will create their own jobs and even establish businesses that will employ others. These are Africas new entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is not a new thing in Africa, Francis Chigunta, a lecturer at the University of Zambia, told GlobalPost. According to historical accounts, Africans were big traders who covered long distances to sell their wares and buy items for exchange and resale in their home areas. However, it is only in recent years that systematic efforts are being made across Africa to promote entrepreneurship as a means of promoting growth and prosperity. Chigunta, who served as an advisor to former Zambian President Rupiah Banda, emphasized that the the major source of livelihoods in Africa is the informal sector and small-scale operations. The informal sectors share of sub-Saharan Africas GDP is about 40 percent and it provides about 70 percent of non-agricultural employment in the majority of African countries, said Chigunta. The overwhelming majority of new job creation in Africa is in the informal sector, said Chigunta, who added that the continents entrepreneurs start in small trading businesses. It would be great to say that Africa’s entrepreneurs are ‘doing it for themselves.’ But that’s not exactly the case. Work needs to be done to create conditions where emerging businesspeople can thrive. Governments must remove red tape restrictions, which are often holdovers from colonial times, such as cumbersome procedures to register a business, get a vendor’s license and open a bank account. African entrepreneurs from South Africa to Rwanda say they need finance, especially microfinance that will loan to small-scale enterprises. The need for better education is another common refrain. Ivory Coast is benefiting from a far-sighted government program that for more than 30 years has provided promising students with scholarships to study overseas. When the educated students return, the country’s economy benefits for years to come.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Apr 2014 15:42:41 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015