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Government incentives are critical for successful indigenous innovation commercialisation, yet there are concerns about the efficacy of these incentives. Therefore, this study examines the effectiveness of government incentives on successful indigenous innovation commercialisation in the context of low-income economies by testing the effects of demand and supply-side incentives on firm performance in the small-scale industry in Ghana.

The theoretical framework for this study is built on the below-the-radar theory of innovation (Kaplinsky et al., 2009). Using a sample of 557 firms engaged in commercialising various indigenous innovations in the small-scale industry in Ghana, PLS-SEM was deployed to assess 11 hypothesised paths based on a validated questionnaire.

The model results, at a 5% significance level, indicate that supply-side incentives are statistically insignificant on sales and profitability but have significant positive effects on employment. The direct and moderating influence of supply-side incentives and market factors on overall firm performance is also insignificant, while demand-side incentives to buyers have significant positive effects on all the performance metrics and positively moderate the effects of market factors.

The research focused on commercialising indigenous innovation in the context of low-income economies. Few studies, if any, have separately explored the effect of demand and supply-side government incentives on indigenous innovation in the context of low-income economies. The findings suggest that innovation support should focus more on the demand side of the innovation value chain.

The purpose of this paper is to propose an instrument, the Small Enterprise Social Responsibility Inventory (SESRI) for measuring business social responsibility (BSR) in the African venture setting.

The approach was to use the components of Dzansi's framework to create an instrument for measuring BSR activities of small ventures that operate in rural Africa. The instrument was tested in a rural community in South Africa for validity, reliability, structure, and its ability to predict firm performance given performance of certain BSR activities.

Through factor analysis of data obtained from 314 small businesses in a rural South African setting, the instrument was found to be valid for measuring small business BSR and identified five factors: expected benefits; community or customer practices; realised or actual benefits; awareness or attitude and performance; and employee practices. Through discriminant analysis, employee practice was found useful for classifying ventures as high or low sales and profit performers, suggesting that information on a firm's BSR related employee practices may be useful predictors of sales and profit.

Firstly, the methodology requires self‐evaluation by the respondents. However, those respondents who reported low levels of BSR activities (and negative growth in sales and performance) also reflected on their own “performance” and recorded it as low signifying some level of realistic reporting. Secondly, there is absence of question items about environmental issues. Thirdly, the sample was taken in a small rural setting, which requires caution when generalising from the results.

This study provides an African context specific measurement instrument for addressing small business BSR. Academics will find it useful in their research efforts. Fund managers will also find it useful for evaluating small business BSR performance. Owners/managers will have a benchmark in performing their social obligations.

Microfinance which refers to the issuance of microloans and the delivery of other related financial services to mostly necessity entrepreneurs has remained a major developmental tool across the developing world. With its inception from Bangladesh’s village of Jobra in 1976, microfinance has provided financial capital to many poor households to engage in income-generating activities in order to increase their assets and reduce vulnerability. Most often than not, necessity entrepreneurs who endeavor to start their own businesses depend on microfinance as a source of financial resource into their Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs). Using Ghana as the study country, this study investigated the impact of microfinance on the necessity entrepreneurs in the areas of poverty reduction, employment generation as well as the various difficulties associated with Microfinance delivery in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. We conducted a paper-based survey with 378 MSE owners from this region. The results indicate that microfinance has contributed to employment generation and poverty reduction in the Greater Accra region of Ghana through the provision of microloans to necessity entrepreneurs to engage in various types of income-generating activities. However, necessity entrepreneurs are faced with loan inadequacy issues coupled with under-financing difficulties. More so, they are also faced with non-flexible loan terms and cumbersome loan application procedures which do not support business expansion and employment generation. This study contributes to the debate on the social logic concept of microfinance delivery and poverty reduction. Microfinance therefore remains an indispensable tool in supporting necessity entrepreneurs in promoting self-employment.

The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic and sound framework for addressing and measuring business social responsibility (BSR) in small and micro enterprises with specific focus on the African context.

The paper is theoretical but has practical applications. The approach was to use principles of BSR from the literature to create a framework for addressing BSR issues in smaller ventures that operate in the African environment. Developing the framework involved operationalizing the linguistic meaning of BSR into observable indicators for it to be measurable. This involved the breaking down of the concept of BSR into dimensions and eventually into measurable elements.

The framework identifies customer‐, employee‐, and community‐related issues as the key BSR activities of African small businesses. Environmentalism is not a major concern for most of these businesses because they are mostly retail and services in nature; hence their impact on the environment will be so low that they need not concern themselves with environmental issues.

Critics will point out the absence of environmental issues as a major limitation. However, the authors believe that such activities are typically associated with large industrial ventures. Thus, given their nature, it is unlikely small businesses will concern themselves with such activities.

There is a need for a framework that captures the African context. This paper fulfils that need by proposing a framework for micro and small ventures with possible inclusion of medium enterprises based on the stakeholder theory. Academics will find it useful in their research efforts. Fund managers will also find it useful as a tool for evaluating small business BSR performance. Small business owners will have a benchmark in performing their social obligations. Finally, consumers, businesses, citizens, NGOs and society at large can use it in distinguishing credible and effective socially responsible SMMEs from those that are not.

This book provides an opportunity to explore the societal effects of entrepreneurship and its result on competitiveness. Over the last decade society has changed as the consequence of demographic shifts and increased usage of information communications technology. This has influenced the type of entrepreneurship individuals and firms to engage in and the focus of their businesses. Despite the importance of society to the speed and rate of entrepreneurship, little research exists that specifically examines societal entrepreneurship and competitiveness. This book aims at narrowing this research gap by discussing the interface between society and entrepreneurship. The core theme emerging from the chapters in this book is that the context of entrepreneurship is dependent on societal perceptions.