Small Businesses Rise to the Challenges of Development in Sub Saharan Africa
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Jon Clifton, Managing Partner Gallup World Poll remarks at the
book
presentation on “The Rise of Africa’s Small & Medium Size Enterprises”
written by Ambassador Robin Sanders, (right), Thursday, May 11, 2017- Photo by Idika Onyukwu
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While development is ultimately
the responsibility of each sovereign country, small and medium
size enterprises (more commonly referred to as SMEs) within Sub-Saharan Africa are
providing what Sanders calls creative
business-aiding-development enterprises that are defining the
region’s future and responding to its many age-old challenges with both
new and appropriate (repurposing by-products of paper or plastic) technology solutions,
according to Ambassador Robin Renee Sanders. Ambassador Sanders, a
former top U.S. government diplomat who served as U.S. Permanent Representative
to the West African Regional Organization ECOWAS, and Ambassadors to Nigeria
and Republic of Congo, spoke at the Washington, D.C. area launch of her new book on
May 11, 2017. The book titled “The Rise of Africa’s Small & Medium Size Enterprise; Spurring
Development & Growing the Middle Class,” highlights the role small
businesses are playing in not only aiding development but adding to the
economic growth of the Sub Saharan Africa Region. The Washington, D.C. book
launch was hosted by Gallup World Poll, with Allafrica.com as the event’s media
partner. Sanders, who is CEO of FEEEDS, along with Gallup World Poll and
Allafrica.com have partnered annually to cover key events on Africa over the
last several years from policies to elections, to improvement in governance.
In his opening
remarks, Gallup World Poll Managing Partner Jon Clifton said, “The
Africa small business story is one of the good news stories, and Gallup World
Poll data helps to tell this good news story.”
Clifton commented that in Ambassador Sanders’s book there are a number Gallup
World Poll Datagraphs that helped add
to sharing this all-important story of the roll today that Africa’s SMEs are
playing, even in, or in spite of difficult or post-conflict environments in
some cases.
“The Rise of
Africa’s Small & Medium Size Enterprises” discusses the determination
of Africa’s SMEs to step into the void left by 40 years of post-independence
development efforts that left very little impact on overall poverty reduction
and job creation in the region. Some of the key chapters include a focus on
recommendations on what donors, the African Union, African governments, and the
new U.S. Administration can do to further assist Africa SMEs. The book also sheds light on the “China
Factor” in the region and its efforts in the SME sector; serves as a
resource-rich data source of not only what Africa’s SMEs are doing, but shares
investment, foundation, and competition opportunities that Africa’s SMEs can
take advantage of, and extensively covers what SSAfrica’s female entrepreneurs
are achieving as well as they special challenges they face. Other areas covered by the book include: special
programs by the various African stock exchanges (e.g. Johannesburg, Kenya, Nigerian)
for Africa’s SMEs, which helps them better understand as well as access the
capital markets, the new role that other technology creative-use
boosters such as 3-D printing and drones are adding to the mix of small
business opportunities; and, Sanders highlights the top eight list or her TEL list of sectors where Africa SMEs are playing and could play more of role in economic development.
Participants at the
event included former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda
Thomas-Greenfield, Ambassadors of Mozambique and Rwanda, Carlos Dos Santos, and
Prof. Mathilde Mukantabana, and Economic Minister, Embassy of South Africa, Malose Letsoalo. Other key figures attending were Prof Kingsley Moghalu ex-Deputy
Governor Central Bank of Nigeria, Eric Guichard, CEO-Homestrings, a leading Diaspora investment platform, representatives of UPAC, a prominent Africa Diaspora Business and Policy Organization, and other
prominent members of the diplomatic community, think tanks, NGOs and academia
from the greater Washington, D.C. area, New York, and Virginia.
Tweeter handles: #AfricaSMEs, @Gallup,
@rrsafrica, #AfricaSMEsGallup
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