Entrepreneurship in Africa: Identifying the Frontier of Impactful Research

Abstract

This review summarizes literature covering entrepreneurship research in Africa, examining 121 articles published in prominent entrepreneurship and management journals from 2002 to 2015. To do so, this research organizes the work done along three broad themes describing: the African entrepreneur, the entrepreneurial firm, and macro socio-economic conditions. Within this framework, the review examines entrepreneurial attributes with regard to gender, age, education, and work behavior. The topics explored that are relevant to the entrepreneurial firm include organizational forms (e.g., SMEs and family businesses), financial and social capital, as well as the informal economy. Macro socio-economic conditions with respect to the various circumstances African entrepreneurs are subject to are then considered. Issues typical to Africa concerning poverty, corruption, internationalization, and environmental concerns are also examined. In an effort to facilitate future work, this research highlights knowledge gaps concerning the theoretical nature of most of work done, which has primarily been focused within Anglophone African countries. This review concludes by considering what needs to be done to improve the quality of entrepreneurship studies within the African context.