For many years, entrepreneurship has been considered as one of the most important solutions to the three-pronged challenges, poverty, unemployment and inequality, of most African countries. A recent development that has undoubtedly compounded the challenges that African entrepreneurs face and further impede the economic growth impact is Covid-19. This pandemic has exerted severe damage to economies and businesses globally. For the African setting, the implications of Covid-19 on businesses and individuals would be enormous, as African societies are rarely equipped to absorb unexpected shocks of this magnitude as the social and welfare schemes are far below requirements. This book illuminates entrepreneurship in the African setting, focusing on the prospects, challenges, and the post-Covid-19 pandemic future. It aims to offer a rich repository of information on strategies and techniques for sustaining entrepreneurial activities that can enrich African nations and will be of relevance to academics, researchers, advanced students, entrepreneurs, governments, and government agencies who are interested in understanding issues relating to entrepreneurship development within the African continent.

Entrepreneurial and Small Business Development in Africa focuses on entrepreneurial development and the development of small businesses in Africa. The central idea of this book is that entrepreneurial development and small business development are connected. Entrepreneurship is lauded as an engine of growth (economic development and job creation), with small businesses often contributing to new job creation. Also, entrepreneurship and small business development are the heart of many countries’ economies. The decision to focus on entrepreneurial development and small business development is that first, there is a consensus that most entrepreneurial activities are aimed at creating small new ventures. Second, countries that give special attention to entrepreneurship stand a chance of industrialization. Third, Africa has been reported as having a rich entrepreneurial landscape as the continent’s wealthiest individuals generated their wealth as trailblazing entrepreneurs. Fourth, small-scale entrepreneurs and businesses form the backbone of economic activities across the continent. A motivation to focus on entrepreneurial and small business development is the generally accepted view that start-ups in Africa are growing calling for understanding into how to enhance productivity, efficiencies, and application of new technologies. The book aims to enhance the understanding of stakeholders (business owners, governments, practitioners) to overturn challenges such as inadequate start-up capital, competition, lack of employees with the right skills, and low use of technology. The ability to develop entrepreneurship in Africa, and the role of small-medium enterprises cannot be underestimated. The promotion of entrepreneurship in Africa is crucial as it creates jobs, provides decent livelihoods, and contributes to GDP. Most entrepreneurial initiatives in developing economies entail identifying opportunities and new venture creation. It is worth recognizing that most new ventures created take the form of small businesses and the entrepreneurial processes involve entrepreneurs’ knowledge and skills, identifying opportunities, involvement in setting up a business and managing the business. The various aspects of this book focus on many entrepreneurial activities that are undertaken on the African continent. This book is focused on African countries since there is a reason to be optimistic about the prospects for growth and entrepreneurship. To achieve entrepreneurial success in African countries, the African Development Bank (2021) proposes that there must be a link between macro and firm-level characteristics that will serve as the mix of entrepreneurship in societies. This book, therefore, considers some macro-level factors such as education, training, and skills development, technological developments, government programs, and entrepreneurial challenges and opportunities. At the firm-level, this book focuses on entrepreneurial initiatives such as branding and marketing.

For a rapidly developing country, South Africa has relatively very low levels of entrepreneurship. This thesis will investigate the reasons for the anemic number of new ventures and, most specifically, tries to address one of the biggest obstacles South African entrepreneurs face: limited access to capital. I have collected data from 47 South African entrepreneurs through questionnaires to survey their level of access to capital, their awareness of the resources that are available to them and to identify which organizations are the most helpful to them in terms of providing educational and financial support. Furthermore, I solicited their opinions on the future of entrepreneurship in their country and tested it against both conventional wisdom and academic hypotheses. I have compared what literature says is happening with what seems to be actually occurring. The findings are that, like many other developed and developing nations, South Africa struggles to provide entrepreneurs with clear paths to capital. Entrepreneurs are also unsure of how to approach venture capitalists and other organizations for funding so education remains a key component to increasing the level of entrepreneurship. There are encouraging signs such as the increase in local organizations aimed at the rural population and women which, studies have shown, are key demographics to eradicate poverty through building new businesses. Several recommendations are outlined, mainly the enhancement of the role of government in fostering the growth of entrepreneurship through programs that are efficient and that attract international investors.

The African business environment provides many opportunities and challenges. Success depends on the ability to quickly see the opportunities and the courage to face the challenges. Successful African entrepreneurs are best described as "doers" rather than "dreamers". They are action-oriented people who look far ahead into the future, and treat mistakes and failures as temporary setbacks on the way to accomplishing their goals. Above all, they are disciplined when it comes to the use of money. These are some of the insights you can get by reading this book. You will also know how to do the following: -Make profits for a purpose -Grow your business -Design a winning strategy -Manage efficiently and effectively -Find trustworthy business partners -Motivate your workers -Communicate with maturity and appreciation -Engage in fast learning -Improve the management of your finances With these tools at your disposal, you are certain to join the small but growing group of very successful African business owners. __________________________________________ John Kuada is Emeritus Professor of International Management at Aalborg University, Denmark. He holds two doctorate degrees - PhD from Copenhagen Business School in Business Economics, and Dr Merc from Aalborg University in International Business. He has extensive experience as business consultant and training advisor in areas of management, marketing and cross-border inter-firm relations in many European and African countries. He is author and/or editor of 25 books on management. He has also written over 100 articles in scholarly and professional journals on a wide range of international business issues including entrepreneurship, international marketing, intercultural management, leadership and strategy. Madei Mangori has over 36 years of experience as an organizational and management development expert in Southern Africa mainly based in Gaborone Botswana. He turned academic in 2015 after obtaining a PhD in Business Management from Aldersgate College in the Philippines. He has published a book and co-authored another. All are available on Amazon. He is a founding member of Mentoring African Research Network (www.resanet.org). He is also the co-ordinator for business and contextual ministry and is currently leading the team working for the accreditation of Botswana Bible Training Institute into a multi-disciplinary tertiary institution operating in four countries in Southern Africa.

Disparity in the workplace has been exacerbated in recent years as society faces a number of challenges in promoting inclusion and equality across fields. To ensure appropriate steps are taken to move in the direction of a diverse and equitable future for the workforce, further study and consideration on the key challenges, opportunities, and strategies for advancing business policy to provide for the underserved is required. Sustainability and the Future of Work and Entrepreneurship for the Underserved highlights marginalized labor and entrepreneurial market segments and reviews strategies used to prepare for technological change globally. The book also provides a series of recommendations to assist in growing and sustaining a more inclusive global society. Covering a range of topics such as disparities, class challenges, and entrepreneurs, this reference work is crucial for policymakers, business owners, managers, researchers, academicians, scholars, instructors, and students.