Abstract

Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth: Does Entrepreneurship Bolster Economic Expansion in Africa?

Omoruyi EMM, Olamide KS, Gomolemo G and Donath OA

Entrepreneurship, with its focus on opportunities, is often seen as one of the cornerstones of poverty alleviation in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). One of the key objectives of modern economics is to determine factors that influence the economic development. This paper, therefore, seeks to discuss entrepreneurship as one of the factors that influence the economy of a nation, either directly or indirectly. It is a fact that entrepreneurship plays a significant part in shaping the landscape of a country’s economy. Economists and policy makers recognize this fact. In fact, entrepreneurship is the engine of economic growth and it has come to be perceived as a catalytic agent for expansion and promotion of productive activities in every sphere of economic life all over the world. This research will focus on finding out how entrepreneurship influences the economy of sub-Saharan Africa. The main objective of this paper is to show the significant effect of entrepreneur towards economic prosperity. The paper argues that entrepreneur is positively correlated to economic growth than foreign aid. The paper shows that entrepreneurship positively explains the variations in the growth of African countries. It is, thus, reasonable to contend that entrepreneurship in developing economies including Africa even if replicative is instrumental to unlocking economic growth, create employment and reduce poverty. The paper further examines some of the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa and provide some policy recommendations.