Search results for ""author dana t. redford""

Africa is at a critical moment in its economic development. With the recent decline of commodity prices, it has become apparent that many African economies, which are resource-based, have suffered greatly. The economies of Africa cannot be lifted up only through programs of aid. Indigenous high-impact entrepreneurs are needed, as they know how to best inspire, act as role models for other Africans and serve their fellow entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial ventures in the financial services sector hold special importance because of the role that they play in the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Financial services are an essential element in powering entrepreneurial activity beyond resource extraction, yet in most sub-Saharan African countries, the financial services sector is relatively nascent compared to developed markets. This book highlights how this is beginning to change. With contributions from leading scholars, it provides inspiring success stories of entrepreneurial financial sector ventures that are making a lasting contribution to the economic development of various sub-Saharan African countries as well as helping the reader understand larger macro-trends.

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Formal financial systems are emerging rapidly in Africa, driven by rising financial literacy and technological innovation, and accelerated by informal savings groups that foster inclusive growth across the continent. While prevalent among the poor, the savings groups phenomenon extends to Africa’s growing, yet still fragile, middle class, underpinning economic resilience and providing a tool for community participation as well as cooperative entrepreneurial development. These groups are also becoming important agents for social and economic empowerment, independent of age and gender. Transforming Africa: How Savings Groups Foster Financial Inclusion, Resilience and Economic Development gives voice to the local and international agents of grassroots economic empowerment initiatives that thrive in Africa. Presenting a unique through in-depth empirical research into savings group activities in over a dozen African countries, this book explores savings groups through the lens of financial inclusion, reflecting on formal finance, economic and social outcomes. SG4Africa was launched in April 2018 to explore these dimensions of savings groups and provide novel, empirically-grounded research across different geographies in Africa. Led jointly by the Policy Experimentation; Evaluation Platform and the University of Johannesburg, the SG4Africa consortium includes members from more than a dozen African countries.

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This insightful Handbook offers a lens through which to view entrepreneurship strategy for higher education institutions, as it becomes increasingly necessary for universities to consider changing their strategies, culture and practices to become more entrepreneurial.Is the idea of an entrepreneurial university a myth or a reality? Is the university model capable of adapting to new evolving trends and a more complex professional world? And, what is the impact of entrepreneurship in education? Through extensive research and case studies from some of the leading entrepreneurial thinkers around the world, Alain Fayolle and Dana Redford answer these questions and raise further issues for debate. Particular focus is given to developing university strategy, public policy and start-up support as a means to foster graduate entrepreneurship. Each contribution explores different perspectives related to the entrepreneurial university concept and its role in stimulating economic growth through cooperative relationships with business and government.As a comprehensive study of the entrepreneurial university, this Handbook will prove invaluable to business and entrepreneurship students and academics, as well as university administrators, researchers and others interested in the evolution of the university.

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