Entrepreneurial opportunities and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa: A review & agenda for the future
Vermeire, Jacob Bruton, Gary
Vermeire, Jacob
Bruton, Gary
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Publication Type
Journal article with impact factor
Editor
Supervisor
Publication Year
2016
Journal
Africa Journal of Management
Book
Publication Volume
2
Publication Issue
3
Publication Begin page
258
Publication End page
280
Publication Number of pages
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Abstract
Entrepreneurship, with its focus on opportunities, is often seen as one of the cornerstones of poverty alleviation in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, evidence for the positive impact of entrepreneurship programs on poverty is mixed and now widely debated. Therefore, scholars have called for a better theoretical understanding of opportunities in SSA in the face of severe resource constraints that characterize the region. In this paper, we aim to shed further light on this issue and outline an agenda for future research. To this end, we first review the current literature on opportunities (discovered and created) and poverty (income-based and capabilities-based). We next employ four case examples of poor entrepreneurs in SSA that challenge assumptions from Western entrepreneurship theories and illustrate what could be fruitful avenues for future research on entrepreneurial opportunities and poverty in SSA.
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Keywords
Entrepreneurship, Opportunity, Poverty, sub-Saharan Africa