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Baccalaureate Oral Exam 2009: Series A4-A5    

Entrepreneurship in Africa

The contribution of African enterprises and even African countries to world economic trade (less than 1%) is a surprising contrast with the vast human natural and material potential in this part of the world, affectionately considered as the cradle of humanity.
Do African enterprises breed the syndrome of their own failure? Are the concepts of enterprise and entrepreneurship influenced by geographical environment? The answer is of course no. Even if the differences between continents, and countries of the same continent, are undisputable, the creation and development of an enterprise conforms to the same principles.
Success, however, requires that battles be fought on several fronts - commercial, technological, financial, managerial which can only be won on two conditions: instituting an enabling economic environment and a genuine entrepreneurship culture.
The first is the responsibility of nations or better still continents. This can only be achieved with the existence of a vast potential, structured and creditworthy market that conforms to a sustainable production-oriented economic policy based on set competitive advantages.
On this front, note should be taken of the absence of promotional and incentive policies for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Africa or if any, the disarticulation between the public and private sectors. Thus, economies are heavily public sector oriented, where financial imbalances appear once public expenses outweigh the level of wealth generated.
To these, could be added the lack of incentives to promote entrepreneurial spirit, corporate culture, the virtues of hard work and the qualities of a good entrepreneur.

Adapted from New African in Opinion by Alamine Ousmane Mey, p.84