Special issue on "Small business development and poverty alleviation in Africa

Citation

(2007), "Special issue on "Small business development and poverty alleviation in Africa", Management Research News, Vol. 30 No. 11. https://doi.org/10.1108/mrn.2007.02130kaa.001

Special issue on "Small business development and poverty alleviation in Africa"

EditorJohn Okpara, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and you feed him forever

The development of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) is seen, particularly in developing countries, as a key strategy for economic growth, employment, creation, and poverty reduction. In Africa, because of their economic supremacy, SMEs have a crucial role to play in stimulating growth, generating employment, and contributing to poverty alleviation. SMEs represent over 90 per cent of private business in the continent and contribute to more than 50 per cent of the employment and of gross domestic product in most African countries. Since their independence, most African countries have been promoting small businesses as an engine for economic growth. More recently, due to the growth of unemployment, there has been a renewed focus on the promotion of small businesses not simply as an engine for growth but more importantly as the key to job creation and poverty reduction. Poverty reduction has been a key issue facing African countries. Studies have shown that Africa has the highest proportion of people living in poverty – nearly half of the population lives below the international poverty line of $1 per day. This persistently high level of poverty is attributed partly to the jobless growth of economies, and has led to an emphasis on small business development as a catalyst for job creation and poverty reduction. To date, small businesses in Africa have high failure rates, which are huge negatives for African economies with limited capital and other resources. The combined failure rates and barriers for growth affect economic development and perpetuate poverty. In the light of the above, it seems necessary to call for a special issue on Management Research News to address the issues surrounding small business development and poverty alleviation, with the hope of encouraging more research on this important subject as well as to make policy recommendations that will help small businesses to thrive and play a bigger role in the development of the continent.

A list of suggested topics includes but is not limited to the following:

• •

  Challenges and prospects of SMEs in Africa

• •

  SMEs and poverty alleviation

• •

  Growth constrains of SMEs impact on poverty alleviation

• •

  Public policy and SMEs

• •

  Growth strategies and SMEs

• •

  Macro-economic factors and entrepreneurship

• •

  Culture and small business development

• •

  Determinants of SMEs performance

• •

  Financing and management issues in SMEs

• •

  Prospects and challenges of micro and small enterprises in the informal sector information technology and SMEs performance

• •

  Micro-financing/loans and small business development

• •

  Privatization and SMEs development

• •

  Challenges and prospects of female entrepreneurship beyond

• •

  Micro businesses and poverty alleviation

• •

  Family owned businesses and poverty alleviation

• •

  Cross-cultural comparison of SMEs strategies and performance

• •

  SMEs and internationalization, strategies, challenges, and prospects

• •

  Export performance and problems of SMEs

• •

  Role of NGOs and small business development

• •

  Business/vocational education and SMEs.

Empirical approaches, case studies, analytical modeling, and conceptual/theoretical papers are all encouraged. Management Research News is a peer reviewed academic journal recently acquired by Emerald Publishing and has been in publication for 30 years. Its emphasis is to publish internationally focused management research studies focusing on timely results and implications of the research, with rapid feedback and turnaround time.

Submissions

The journal website is located at: www.emeraldinsight.com/mrn.htm. Please take a minute to read through the author guidelines on this site before submitting your paper. Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. All papers are refereed through a peer review process. Papers should not to exceed 6,000 words. Electronic submissions to the Editor through email are preferred: jokpara@bloomu.edu

Schedule

Closing date for submission of manuscripts: 31 May 2008. Communication of initial decision on manuscripts: 15 August 2008. Resubmission of revised manuscripts: 1 October 2008. Expected publication date: Mid 2009.