Young Entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa / Edition 1

by Katherine V. Gough, Thilde Langevang

Overview

Young people in sub-Saharan Africa are growing up in rapidly changing social and economic environments which produce high levels of un- and underemployment. Job creation through entrepreneurship is currently being promoted by international organizations, governments and NGOs as a key solution, despite there being a dearth of knowledge about youth entrepreneurship in an African context.

This book makes an important contribution by exploring the nature of youth entrepreneurship in Ghana, Uganda and Zambia. It provides new insights into conceptual and methodological discussions of youth entrepreneurship as well as presenting original empirical data. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative research, conducted under the auspices of a collaborative, interdisciplinary and comparative research project, it highlights the opportunities and challenges young people face in setting up and running businesses. Divided into a number of clear sections, each with its own introduction and conclusion, the book considers the nature of youth entrepreneurship at the national level, in both urban and rural areas, in specific sectors - including mobile telephony, mining, handicrafts and tourism - and analyses how key factors, such as microfinance, social capital and entrepreneurship education, affect youth entrepreneurship.

New light is shed on the multi-faceted nature of youth entrepreneurship and a convincing case is presented for a more nuanced understanding of the term entrepreneurship and the situation faced by many African youth today.

This book will be of interest to a wide range of scholars interested in youth entrepreneurship, including in development studies, business studies, youth studies and geography, as well as to development practitioners and policy makers.

The Open Access title has now been added to the Open Access page.

http://www.tandfebooks.com/page/openaccess

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138844599
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	03/08/2016
Series:	Routledge Spaces of Childhood and Youth Series
Pages:	294
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Katherine V. Gough is Professor of Human Geography at Loughborough University. She has over 20 years’ experience of conducting research on urban issues in the global South, with a particular focus on young people.

Thilde Langevang is Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Development Studies at Copenhagen Business School. She has been conducting research on youth in Africa for over 10 years.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: Youth entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa Part I: National studies of youth entrepreneurship Introduction to Part 1 2. Youth entrepreneurship trends and policies in Uganda 3. Youth entrepreneurship in Ghana: current trends and policies G 4. Measuring and promoting youth entrepreneurship in Zambia Concluding comments to Part 1 Part II: Youth entrepreneurship in urban settlements Introduction to Part 2 5. Young entrepreneurs in Lusaka: overcoming constraints through ingenuity and social entrepreneurship 6. Youth entrepreneurship in Kampala: managing scarce resources in a challenging environment 7. Prospects and challenges of youth entrepreneurship in a Nima-Maamobi, a low-income neighbourhood of Accra Concluding comments to Part 2 Part III: Youth entrepreneurship in rural areas Introduction to Part 3 8. Mobile rural youth in northern Ghana: combining near and distant opportunity spaces 9. Rural youth entrepreneurship in eastern Uganda 10. Rural youth in northern Zambia: straddling the rural-urban divide Concluding comments to Part 3 Part IV: Youth entrepreneurship in specific sectors Introduction to Part 4 Katherine 11.Young entrepreneurs in the mobile telephony sector in Ghana 12. Youth entrepreneurship in a small-scale gold mining settlement in Ghana 13. Young female entrepreneurs in Uganda: handicraft production as a livelihood strategy 14. Employment in the tourism industry: a pathway to entrepreneurship for Ugandan youth Concluding comments to Part 4 Part V: Stimulating youth entrepreneurship Introduction to Part 5 15. Social capital among young entrepreneurs in Zambia 16. Innovative approaches by Ugandan microfinance institutions to reach out to young entrepreneurs 17. Entrepreneurship education in Uganda: impact on graduate intentions to set up a business Concluding comments to Part 5