Enabling Entrepreneurship: Support Intermediaries and Social Enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

This thesis explores the landscape of entrepreneurship training programmes for economic development in sub-Saharan Africa. The overarching research question focuses on how support organisations can propel impact via (social) entrepreneurship, in particular focusing on developing economies in sub-Saharan Africa. This question is analysed through the lenses of entrepreneurial ecosystems, contextualization and social entrepreneurship. Using a mapping exercise, case studies and theoretical explorations, this thesis examines the challenges and patterns which exist around training for entrepreneurship and for social entrepreneurship. The thesis reviews these programs - their successes and their failings - and investigates how they are designed and who they are targeted at. The key findings highlight that every enterprise, entrepreneurial support intermediary and training programme is embedded into a unique entrepreneurial ecosystem that has different strengths, weaknesses and gaps. The socioeconomic, cultural, and geographical dimensions of context need to be considered when developing support intermediaries and entrepreneurial support organisations. Because the relationships and complex dynamics between elements in these ecosystems are so essential, training programmes can be ineffective and expensive if an enabling environment for entrepreneurs is not already in place. Understanding the possibilities and the limitations of entrepreneurial training and social enterprises can help align the actors and factors of local entrepreneurial ecosystems and thus lead to better outcomes. This thesis links and contributes to relevant theoretical perspectives, including entrepreneurial ecosystems, resource scarcity and bricolage, social identity work and other strands of the social entrepreneurship literature.