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African Smes Networks And Manufacturing Performance
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Book Synopsis African Small and Medium Enterprises, Networks, and Manufacturing Performance by : Tyler Biggs
Download or read book African Small and Medium Enterprises, Networks, and Manufacturing Performance written by Tyler Biggs and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2006 with total page 41 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This paper examines the role of private support institutions in determining small and medium enterprise (SME) growth and performance in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It finds that SMEs in SSA get around market failures and lack of formal institutions by creating private governance systems in the form of long-term business relationships and tight, ethnically-based, business networks. There are important links between these informal governance institutions and SME performance. Networks raise the performance of "insiders" and, in the sparse business environments of the SSA region, have attendant negative consequences for market participation of "outsiders," such as indigenous African SMEs. This is indicated through the determinants of access to supplier credit. Policy interventions will be needed to improve the platform for relation-based governance mechanisms and to address the exclusionary effects of tight networks. "
Book Synopsis African Small and Medium Enterprises, Networks, and Manufacturing Performance by : Tyler Biggs
Download or read book African Small and Medium Enterprises, Networks, and Manufacturing Performance written by Tyler Biggs and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper examines the role of private support institutions in determining small and medium enterprise (SME) growth and performance in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It finds that SMEs in SSA get around market failures and lack of formal institutions by creating private governance systems in the form of long-term business relationships and tight, ethnically-based, business networks. There are important links between these informal governance institutions and SME performance. Networks raise the performance of "insiders" and, in the sparse business environments of the SSA region, have attendant negative consequences for market participation of "outsiders," such as indigenous African SMEs. This is indicated through the determinants of access to supplier credit. Policy interventions will be needed to improve the platform for relation-based governance mechanisms and to address the exclusionary effects of tight networks.
Book Synopsis African Small and Medium Enterprises, Networks, and Manufacturing Performance by : Tyler Biggs
Download or read book African Small and Medium Enterprises, Networks, and Manufacturing Performance written by Tyler Biggs and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 41 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper examines the role of private support institutions in determining small and medium enterprise (SME) growth and performance in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It finds that SMEs in SSA get around market failures and lack of formal institutions by creating private governance systems in the form of long-term business relationships and tight, ethnically-based, business networks. There are important links between these informal governance institutions and SME performance. Networks raise the performance ofinsidersand, in the sparse business environments of the SSA region, have attendant negative consequences for market participation of outsiders, such as indigenous African SMEs. This is indicated through the determinants of access to supplier credit. Policy interventions will be needed to improve the platform for relation-based governance mechanisms and to address the exclusionary effects of tight networks.
Book Synopsis African SMES, Networks, and Manufacturing Performance by : Tyler Biggs
Download or read book African SMES, Networks, and Manufacturing Performance written by Tyler Biggs and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 41 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Book Synopsis Performance of Manufacturing Firms in Africa by : Hinh T. Dinh
Download or read book Performance of Manufacturing Firms in Africa written by Hinh T. Dinh and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2012-08-21 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Performance of Manufacturing Firms in Africa: An Empirical Analysis sheds light on the characteristics of formal and informal manufacturing firms in Africa by comparing these firms with firms in other regions. Drawing on two data sources, the authors find that there is a very low share of manufacturing in GDP in Africa and in African exports. Most African manufacturing firms are informal, perhaps because the enforcement of registration and licensing regulations is not strict. These firms are also smaller than firms in other regions and few export. Labor productivity is low in Africa relative to other regions, but this may be because of the more challenging environment—with the lack of physical infrastructure, the heavy burden of business regulation, and other issues. However, after accounting for these differences, the authors find that firms in Sub-Saharan Africa appear more, not less, productive than firms elsewhere. This analysis suggests that improving the business environment might allow firms to enhance their performance. However, given the pervasive distortions in the business environment and the limited resources at the disposal of most African countries, Africa cannot and should not wait until the business environment becomes healthier before growing a more viable manufacturing sector. Performance of Manufacturing Firms in Africa: An Empirical Analysis shows that binding constraints vary by country, by sector, and by firm size. Therefore, countries should identify the constraints in the most promising sectors and adopt policies designed specifically to remove these constraints. The evidence in this book overwhelmingly dispels the false notion of Africa’s inability to compete globally in manufacturing goods. This book will be of interest to economists, policy makers, and government officials working to improve manufacturing firm performance in Africa.
Book Synopsis Improving Manufacturing Performance in South Africa by : Avril Joffe
Download or read book Improving Manufacturing Performance in South Africa written by Avril Joffe and published by IDRC. This book was released on 1995 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Improving Manufacturing Performance in South Africa
Book Synopsis Industrial Clusters and Micro and Small Enterprises in Africa by : World Bank
Download or read book Industrial Clusters and Micro and Small Enterprises in Africa written by World Bank and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2010-12-30 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The World Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Research Institute, and the Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development (FASID), in collaboration with researchers affiliated with the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), recently conducted a study on Africa s domestic enterprises to improve the understanding of the constraints micro and small enterprises in Africa face in improving productivity and expanding their markets. In Africa, there are stark performance gaps between domestically owned enterprises and foreign-owned enterprises in terms of sales performance, productivity, and ability to reach distant markets. Among others, size appears to be a dominant factor in explaining the gap. Against this background, the study analyzes how naturally formed industrial clusters concentrations of enterprises engaged in same or closely related industrial activities in specific locations could potentially mitigate constraints Africa s micro and small enterprises face and enhance their business performance. The study is one of the first comprehensive quantitative inquiries on industrial clusters in Africa. The analysis specifically focuses on the role of spontaneously grown clusters of light manufacturing industries based on a set of original case studies of industrial clusters conducted for this research project. One of the key findings from the case studies was that cluster-based micro and small enterprises are performing better than similar micro and small enterprises outside of the clusters in terms of sales performance and ability to reach distant markets. Market access is a leading reason for cluster-based enterprises to choose their current locations. However, cluster-based enterprises face another set of unique growth constraints. By the very nature of spontaneous agglomera tion, new enterprises continue to flow to the clusters seeking the profit opportunities and better access to markets at such locations. The result can be intense competition in addition to increased congestion. Space constraints often impede growth within clusters. The lack of alternative locations available for industrial activities in the same cities, generic infrastructure bottlenecks, and unclear zoning policies and their unpredictable changes limit firms location choices and constrain their mobility. While competition should improve efficiency, lack of capacity among those competing cluster-based enterprises to invest and innovate does not generate growth out of the competition. The vast majority of naturally formed clusters of light manufacturing industries in Africa are still at a survival level, where agglomeration externalities are only limited to expand quantity but not quality as we observe in more advanced innovation-oriented clusters in elsewhere in the world. Existing studies on such natural industrial clusters in Africa have found that the lack of managerial skills among entrepreneurs running micro and small enterprises is a major constraint for innovation and growth in the clusters. As a part of this study, pilot managerial skills training programs were conducted in two industrial clusters on an experimental basis, where a group of randomly selected entrepreneurs within the clusters were given three-week long crush course of based management such as bookkeeping, marketing, business planning, and production management. The impact evaluation of the experiments showed significant positive impacts of the training programs on value added and gross profits of enterprises. Raising the current survival-type industrial clusters, which have been formed as a coping mechanism to weak investment climate, into more dynamic innovating clusters will be an important avenue for fostering growth of micro and small enterprises in Africa. While national efforts to improve investment climate and investments in human capital are undoubtedly important, there could be more targeted policies to be formulated, in complementing general policies, to support growth of micro and small domestic enterprises using existing industrial clusters as a natural springboard for their growth. In that context, the study discusses the merit of cluster-based managerial human capital development to build steps toward more innovation-oriented clusters, the importance of sound spatial planning policy, particularly at the local level in the context of urban planning, the need to expand market access and economic linkages for industrial clusters including regional integration and linkages with large enterprises.
Book Synopsis SMEs and Economic Development in Africa by : Gift Mugano
Download or read book SMEs and Economic Development in Africa written by Gift Mugano and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-09-15 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a driving force of the global economy, contributing up to 50% of gross domestic product in some instances. They also contribute to economic development through various channels such as employment creation, economic growth and poverty reduction, key elements of the Sustainable Development Goals. Furthermore, in many economies the majority of jobs are provided by SMEs. However, despite their support of the economy, SMEs are prone to several binding constraints, such as access to finance and market entry, as well as exogenous shocks and crises, most recently the COVID-19 pandemic. Building on evidence from international experience, SMEs and Economic Development in Africa provides grounded solutions to challenges affecting SMEs, particularly in Africa, and offers guidance on how to build resilience to counteract future shocks. It also offers a number of policy measures which governments in developing countries may need to consider in order to encourage economic growth and development, such as increasing productive capacities, training, enhancing business ethics and professionalism and improving competitiveness. What makes this book distinctive is that fact that it brings together the literature concerning SMEs in one place, and using case studies, it showcases how policymakers can overcome the challenges affecting SMEs. The book also provides tested and practical remedies for African economies with a view to making SMEs a springboard for economic prosperity. The book will appeal to advanced students, scholars and researchers, as well as policymakers, development agencies and non-governmental organisations.
Book Synopsis Light Manufacturing in Africa by : Hinh T. Dinh
Download or read book Light Manufacturing in Africa written by Hinh T. Dinh and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2012-02-24 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines how light manufacturing can offer a viable solution for Sub-Saharan Africa's need for structural transformation and productive job creation, given its potential competitiveness based on low wage costs and an abundance of natural resources that supply raw materials needed for industries. Based on five different analytical tools and data sources, the book examines in detail the binding constraints in each of the subsectors relevant for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): apparel, leather goods, metal products, agribusiness, and wood products. Ethiopia is used as an example, with Vietnam as a comparator and China as a benchmark, and with insights from Tanzania and Zambia used to draw out lessons more broadly for SSA. The book recommends a program of focused policies to exploit Africa's latent comparative advantage in a particular group of light manufacturing industries - especially leather goods, garments, and agricultural processing. These industries hold the prospect of initiating rapid, substantial, and potentially self-propelling waves of rising output, employment, productivity, and exports that can push countries like Ethiopia on a path of structural change of the sort recently achieved in both China and Vietnam. The timing for these initiatives is very appropriate as China's comparative advantage in these areas is diminishing due to steep cost increases associated with rising wages and non-wage labor costs, escalating land prices, and mounting regulatory costs. Five features of this book distinguish it from previous studies. First, the detailed work on light manufacturing at the subsector and product levels in five countries provide in-depth cost comparisons between Asia and Africa that can be used as a framework for future studies. Second, the book uses a wide array of quantitative and qualitative techniques to identify key constraints to enterprises and to evaluate firm performance differences across countries. Third, the findings that firm constraints vary by country, sector, and firm size led to a focused approach to identifying constraints and combining market-based measures and select government intervention to remove them. Fourth, the solution to light manufacturing problems cuts across many sectors: solving the manufacturing inputs problem requires solving specific issues in agriculture, education, and infrastructure. African countries cannot afford to wait until all the problems across sectors are resolved. Fifth, the book draws on experiences and solutions from other developing countries to inform its recommendations. This book will be very valuable to African policy makers, professional economists, and anyone interested in the economic development, industrialization, and structural transformation of developing countries.
Book Synopsis African small and medium enterprises, networks, and manufacturing perfomance by : Tyler Biggs
Download or read book African small and medium enterprises, networks, and manufacturing perfomance written by Tyler Biggs and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 41 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Book Synopsis What Have We Learned from a Decade of Manufacturing Enterprise Surveys in Africa ? by : Arne Bigsten
Download or read book What Have We Learned from a Decade of Manufacturing Enterprise Surveys in Africa ? written by Arne Bigsten and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2005 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In the early 1990s the World Bank launched the Regional Program on Enterprise Development in several African countries, a key component of which was the collection of manufacturing firm-level data. In this paper the authors review the research based on the data sets generated by these and subsequent firm surveys in Africa, with a special view to what they think are the most important policy implications. The authors survey the research on the African business environment, focusing on market size, risk, access to credit, labor, and infrastructure. They cover the research on how firms choose to organize themselves and how firms do business. They review the research on firm performance, including firm growth, investment and technology acquisition, and exports. They conclude with an extended discussion of the policy lessons. "--World Bank web site.
Book Synopsis The Oxford Handbook of Africa and Economics by : Célestin Monga
Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Africa and Economics written by Célestin Monga and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015-07-02 with total page 1010 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For a long time, economic research on Africa was not seen as a profitable venture intellectually or professionally-few researchers in top-ranked institutions around the world chose to become experts in the field. This was understandable: the reputation of Africa-centered economic research was not enhanced by the well-known limitations of economic data across the continent. Moreover, development economics itself was not always fashionable, and the broader discipline of economics has had its ups and downs, and has been undergoing a major identity crisis because it failed to predict the Great Recession. Times have changed: many leading researchers-including a few Nobel laureates-have taken the subject of Africa and economics seriously enough to devote their expertise and creativity to it. They have been amply rewarded: the richness, complexities, and subtleties of African societies, civilizations, rationalities, and ways of living, have helped renew the humanities and the social sciences-and economics in particular-to the point that the continent has become the next major intellectual frontier to researchers from around the world. In collecting some of the most authoritative statements about the science of economics and its concepts in the African context, this ^lhandbook (the first of two volumes) opens up the diverse acuity of commentary on exciting topics, and in the process challenges and stimulates the quest for knowledge. Wide-ranging in its scope, themes, language, and approaches, this volume explores, examines, and assesses economic thinking on Africa, and Africa's contribution to the discipline. The editors bring a set of powerful resources to this endeavor, most notably a team of internationally-renowned economists whose diverse viewpoints are complemented by the perspectives of philosophers, political scientists, and anthropologists.
Book Synopsis Open Innovation and Entrepreneurship by : Gadaf Rexhepi
Download or read book Open Innovation and Entrepreneurship written by Gadaf Rexhepi and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-05-31 with total page 133 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book combines theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence on open innovation and entrepreneurship as two essential ways to help entrepreneurial businesses grow and achieve a competitive advantage. Discussing essential issues at the nexus of entrepreneurship and open innovation, such as enterprise growth, creating competitive advantage, implementation of open innovation, and the overall corporate strategy, the respective contributions demonstrate how open innovation can provide a vital impetus to the growth of entrepreneurial businesses and pave a new way to achieving a competitive edge.
Book Synopsis Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Poverty Reduction in Africa by : Ameen Alharbi
Download or read book Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Poverty Reduction in Africa written by Ameen Alharbi and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2015-06-18 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Poverty Reduction in Africa addresses the vital question of why the millions of dollars of governments’ and international development interventions in the SMEs sector are yet to deliver significant and sustainable employment and poverty reduction in Africa. The book also addresses the question of how the SMEs sector can help in the eradication of poverty in Africa. The book also tackles the question of what policy makers, SMEs operators, would-be entrepreneurs and trainers can do to contribute to poverty reduction through the SMEs sector. To address these three key questions, the book has adopted innovative concepts and ideas that will appeal to the sensibilities of African policy makers, trainers, business operators and would-be entrepreneurs. For example, the existing literature on system thinking and spirituality in business is used to offer a novel approach and departure from the perennial focus on “technical training” and hardnosed pursuit of “individualised” business and personal goals as a means of developing entrepreneurs and crafting SMEs policy. The key features of the book are: • a focus on changing the mind-set of SMEs operators, policy makers, trainers and would-be entrepreneurs; • contextualising the role of SMEs in poverty reduction by emphasizing the relevance of the African worldview, belief systems and spirituality during policy making, policy implementation and training of SMEs operators and would-be entrepreneurs; • theoretical explanations to why good intentions in policy formulation and implementation do not deliver expected outcomes in terms of the SMEs sector’s contribution to poverty reduction; • practical guidelines on how SMEs can develop a poverty-related mission statement, business strategy and business plan within the context of poverty reduction; • personal development guidelines for SMEs operators and prospective entrepreneurs on how to develop poverty-related personal mission statements and strategies; • the introduction of spiritual poverty and system thinking as the foundation for policy formulation and poverty reduction interventions in Africa.
Book Synopsis The Emerging Middle Class in Africa by : Mthuli Ncube
Download or read book The Emerging Middle Class in Africa written by Mthuli Ncube and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-10-10 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The emergence of the African middle class as a driver of Africa’s economic growth stands out as an important milestone in Africa’s contemporary economic history. This growth, though uneven, is a source of hope for Africa, but also a signal to the rest of the world on the prospects for economic recovery and renewal, particularly because it has been steady despite the global downturn. The Emerging Middle Class in Africa analyses specific aspects of the lives of the middle class in Africa. It looks at how people become and remain in the middle class through a series of thematic chapters. It examines how behaviour changes in the process, in terms of consumption patterns and spending on health and education. A further dimension of this analysis is how class impacts on gender relations and whether women are able to reap the same benefits of social advancement available to men. Africa is a continent of such scale and diversity that experiences across countries vary widely. The book thus captures the common patterns across the continent. This text is primarily aimed at Africanist researchers, policy makers, development practitioners, and bilateral and multilateral institutions, as well as students of African studies, political science, political economy, development studies, and development economics.
Book Synopsis Marketing Management in Africa by : George Tesar
Download or read book Marketing Management in Africa written by George Tesar and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-04-27 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on strategies for developing consumer markets in Africa using concepts and techniques from marketing, entrepreneurship, and project management. The authors argue that entrepreneurial activity in Africa is rapid, but limited, and requires a structured approach to drive success. Beginning with an introductory chapter that frames the socio-economic and technological developments in Africa, readers are introduced to the conceptual model that provides this structured approach in four logical parts: The creative stage Entrepreneurial and enterprise activities Understanding consumer behavior and market segments A project management-based framework. This multidisciplinary approach is supplemented with many examples and cases from a variety of sectors including health care, wind and solar power, and mobile technology. Through these, readers are able to understand how the model is implemented in reality to drive innovative economic and social development. Marketing Management in Africa will prove a valuable companion to any student of marketing or entrepreneurship with a particular interest in Africa.
Book Synopsis Industrial Clusters and Innovation Systems in Africa by : Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka
Download or read book Industrial Clusters and Innovation Systems in Africa written by Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka and published by UNU. This book was released on 2007 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the incidence and role of clusters as a viable and increasingly important form of industrial organization in Africa. It presents a series of theoretically grounded case studies that analyze clusters in different industrial sectors and at different levels of economic development. The overall aim is to improve understanding of how local clusters can be transformed into local systems of innovation and how local clusters can be better connected to global actors. The authors draw out implications for policy and practice and provide guidance to governments, private sector associations, and non-governmental organizations.--Publisher's description.
