Introduction
Africa, despite the fact that it has the most number of developing nations, promises to be the world’s exciting economic frontier, transforming the states of nations and hope to a new generation of accomplished and engaged youth (Filomeno de Sousa dos Santos, 2015). According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the number of Africans joining the working age population will exceed that of the rest combined by 2035 (Vollgraaf, 2015).
For this to happen, it largely depends on the vigorous flourish in, and the continuous empowerment of, regional Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and young entrepreneurs. According to OECD (2005), SMEs are non-subsidiary, independent firms which employ less than a given number of employees, varying across countries but usually the upper limit being 250 employees.
In Africa, it is without a doubt that the number of SMEs exceeds the large companies by a wide margin and also creates around 80% of the region’s employment. SMEs are also said to be responsible for driving innovation and competition in many economic sectors, establishing a new middle class and fueling demand for new goods and services. This scale of transformation should not be underestimated (Filomeno de Sousa dos Santos, 2015).
[to be continued…]