Entrepreneurship in Africa through the Eyes of GEDI

Abstract

Since the 1990s several new indices, including the Index of Economic Freedom, Doing Business and the Global Competitiveness Index, have been created to achieve progress in modernizing the business climates of developed and developing countries alike. These indicators, however, are focused largely on ameliorating burdens for current business, addressing issues with property rights, processes, etc. While necessary in the public effort to improve economic incentives and create employment, they remain insufficient to foster the economic essence of development: entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship policy are not merely about small business, or even at times about business at all; rather, they are about creating environments in which people are able to perceive entrepreneurial opportunities to improve their lives and in which they are empowered to act on their visions. While much has been written about the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and increasingly about the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index (GEDI), this paper represents the first attempt to examine private enterprise development in Africa.