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Article
Publication date: 1 October 2011

Kobena Hanson, George Kararach, Frannie A. Léautier and Robert Nantchouang

Animal spirits in modern economics has a specific meaning; it refers to the restless and inconsistent element in the economy as well as the peculiar relationship people have with…

214

Abstract

Animal spirits in modern economics has a specific meaning; it refers to the restless and inconsistent element in the economy as well as the peculiar relationship people have with ambiguity and uncertainty, which tends to lead to paralysis or incredible confidence and energy in decision‐making and risk taking. Animal spirits have also been used to explain peaceful periods and instability or interpret track records of success and periods of disarray or spectacular failure, high levels of trust and confidence or extreme pessimism and distrust. Willingness to undertake extreme effort or self‐sacrifice to get things done is another expression of animal spirits, which can again go in the opposite direction with people shirking responsibilities, and practicing generalized selfishness or individualism. Such behaviours can have visible effects on the performance of public agencies or civil service agencies, in the behaviour of leaders in the public or private sector, or in the economic performance of a country. Differences across agencies and countries over time can also be explained if one is able to distinguish the effect of animal spirits. Using a logistic model, this paper tests for the existence of “animal spirits” in the capacity development interventions spearheaded by the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)‐funded institutions. The analysis and findings highlight, amongst others, the importance of non‐economic factors in shaping the capacity development sphere. Understanding this nature of animal spirits is critical to designing and implementing effective programs for capacity development in Africa. It is particularly important to focus on issues of leadership and leadership development, including the capacity for leaders to instil confidence and piece together stories that motivate people into a common vision of the future or to achieve common objectives.

Details

World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, vol. 7 no. 2/3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-5961

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Article
Publication date: 1 October 2011

Frannie A. Léautier

African countries experienced severe macroeconomic shocks in the 1980’s, which put them on a reform path that has generated resilience visible in their ability to recover and even…

363

Abstract

African countries experienced severe macroeconomic shocks in the 1980’s, which put them on a reform path that has generated resilience visible in their ability to recover and even grow from the fiscal and economic crises of 2008‐2009. Critical to the success of the reforms was a cadre of skilled people, focused organizations and effective institutions for macroeconomic management, put in place in large part, by the efforts of key stakeholders involved in capacity development. The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) is the single most important entity that was created to focus on building capacity in Africa. The choices made and successes achieved by ACBF tell a story of Africa’s attempt to build the capacity needed to develop. Emerging challenges on the horizon call once again for attention to capacity; focus that ACBF is ready for after 20 years of existence. This keynote speech was delivered during the 20th Anniversary Summit of the African Capacity Building 8‐9th February, 2011.

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World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, vol. 8 no. 2/3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-5945

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Article
Publication date: 1 October 2011

George Kararach, Kobena T. Hanson and Frannie A. Léautier

Africa is going through a youth bulge with more people under 25 than above 50 in all of its countries. Creating opportunities for the burgeoning number of youth is a challenge…

633

Abstract

Africa is going through a youth bulge with more people under 25 than above 50 in all of its countries. Creating opportunities for the burgeoning number of youth is a challenge that cannot be solved only at the country level. Regional integration policies that expand the opportunity space by increasing the size of economies and markets will be critical. Also needed are regional policies that can support the development and enhancement of innovation systems including investment in science and technology education to speed up the creation of a cadre of young people that can lead the transformation of stages of production from dependencies on primary products and extraction. Policies and Programs that can modernize agriculture and support effective creation of value chains that enhance the value added from agriculture that can excite youth back to the rural areas would also be needed. This paper explores the challenges facing countries in Africa in relation to it’s demographic transition, investigating the type of policies that would be most effective to address the challenge. The subsets of policies at the regional level are given special attention due to their opportunity expanding nature. Concrete examples of what has potential from observed results in other regions of the world are provided.

Details

World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, vol. 7 no. 2/3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-5961

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Article
Publication date: 1 October 2011

Allam Ahmed and Kobena T. Hanson

There is now real optimism of the prospects of Africa reclaiming the 21st century given its recent sterling growth performance and the number of successful reforms undertaken…

836

Abstract

There is now real optimism of the prospects of Africa reclaiming the 21st century given its recent sterling growth performance and the number of successful reforms undertaken. There have been considerable and noticeable efforts to invest in innovation, infrastructure, integration, institutions and a revamp of incentive systems to develop new values that allow for transparency, accountability and greater social inclusion. New forms of leaderships have emerged at various social levels and institutions to drive a development agenda based on peer‐learning and knowledge‐sharing. Africa, in so doing, is unearthing deep skills and the reaping low‐hanging fruits needed to speed its ambitions to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and sustainable development. This broad development agenda has required Africa to adopt strategic and practical solutions to the development challenges it faces. This volume interrogates a number of issues that are crucial for the attainment of sustainable development in Africa: a responsive governance framework, the demographic transition and youth bulge, conflict and related dynamics – such as disarmament and demobilisation, capacity building in post‐conflict and fragile states, the role of donors in enhancing (or otherwise) local development efforts, the need to understand the “softer‐side” of capacity development; and above all the role of savvy and strategic leadership. Understanding these issues and beyond, by organizations like the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), will determine whether Africa will achieve its development ambitions in the very near future.

Details

World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, vol. 7 no. 2/3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-5961

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Article
Publication date: 1 October 2011

Allam Ahmed and Kobena T. Hanson

Today, more so than ever before, the African Continent is confronted with many challenges on its path to sustained growth and development. There is no denying the fact that Africa…

595

Abstract

Today, more so than ever before, the African Continent is confronted with many challenges on its path to sustained growth and development. There is no denying the fact that Africa needs to substantially improve growth performance if it is to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These various challenges facing Africa’s sustainable development were the main focus of the 20th Anniversary Summit of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) held in the picturesque city of Kigali, Rwanda ‐ under the theme ‘The Future of Africa is Now! The Critical Role of Capacity Development. The aim of this introductory paper of the special issue is to provide a summary of the key presentations from the Summit with special focus on leadership, innovation and the role of the private sector and science and technology, networks of skills and knowledge, rebuilding after conflict, and sustainable support to capacity development. Moreover the paper will also provide a summary of the steps outlined by the summit to build capacities for emerging challenges beyond the MDG. The paper will also include an overview of the ACBF’s flagship publication‐Africa Capacity Indicators Report (ACIR) launched during the Summit and finally conclude by highlighting a key outcome of the Summit ‐ ‘Kigali Resolution’.

Details

World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, vol. 8 no. 2/3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-5945

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Article
Publication date: 1 October 2011

Kobena Hanson and Frannie Léautier

This paper draws on the extant literature and experiences of selected ACBF‐supported programs to interrogate approaches to enhancing institutional leadership in African…

305

Abstract

This paper draws on the extant literature and experiences of selected ACBF‐supported programs to interrogate approaches to enhancing institutional leadership in African universities. The paper posits that African universities must proactively take charge of fostering institutional leadership so as to translate leadership competence into strategic assets. Such assets are key to bolstering intellectual capital, strategic scanning, i.e. the capacity to recognize the behaviour of interconnected systems to make effective decisions under varying strategic and risk scenarios, and the transformation of knowledge. To this end, African universities need to transcend their current “modern” system of education to a post‐modern perspective, which recognizes context, collaboration and knowledge as valued skills. Enhancing institutional leadership is also crucial if Africa is to compete in today’s rapidly globalizing world and knowledge society. More importantly, doing so has direct impact on shaping the quality of leadership on the Continent, and consequently the resulting policy decisions and governance. The paper concludes that while institutional, political, demographic as well as resource challenges exist, African universities today, are uniquely positioned as a result of uptake of knowledge management, strengthened private‐public partnerships and advances in ICT to enhance institutional leadership.

Details

World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, vol. 7 no. 2/3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-5961

Keywords

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Case study
Publication date: 8 March 2023

Hadiya Faheem and Sanjib Dutta

After discussing this case, students will be able to understand the challenges faced by social entrepreneurs in starting a health-tech start-up in Africa; create and evaluate lean…

Abstract

Learning outcomes

After discussing this case, students will be able to understand the challenges faced by social entrepreneurs in starting a health-tech start-up in Africa; create and evaluate lean business models of health-tech companies as a social enterprise; evaluate how health-tech start-ups were developing innovative business models and supply chain networks to make prescription drugs accessible and available in Africa; understand how inorganic growth strategies can help health-tech start-ups scale up; and evaluate what promises investors were seeing while investing in social enterprises in the health-care sector in Africa and what social wealth they were creating.

Case overview/synopsis

In August 2022, Gregory Rockson (Rockson), social entrepreneur and founder of for-profit health technology (health-tech) social enterprise in Ghana, mPharma, stated that he had plans to replicate the company’s business model, which provided people access to drugs and at affordable prices, to other African nations, beyond the company’s existing footprint. However, analysts pointed out that the fragmented drug supply chain and poor regulation in the health-care market across Africa could act as a challenge for mPharma to replicate its business model successfully across the African continent. People in Africa were forced to pay higher prices to buy life-saving drugs due to the continent’s fragmented drug supply chain. To add to their woes, pharmacies struggled to keep life-saving and life-sustaining medicines in stock. Often, patients traveled miles to a pharmacy only to find out that the drugs they needed were not in stock. In addition to this, the markets were flooded with counterfeit drugs. And the Covid-19 pandemic only exacerbated the situation. mPharma managed the prescription drug inventory for pharmacies and drug suppliers using its proprietary vendor management information system. By using the technology infrastructure it had built, the company connected patients, pharmacies and hospitals through a cloud-based software. The system enabled doctors to track in real-time which drugs were available and at which location, thus giving patients reliable access to medicines. Patients registering with mPharma with their prescriptions and medical history received an alert on their mobile phones notifying them where the drugs they needed were available. mPharma bought drugs from major drug manufacturers such as Novartis International AG, Pfizer Inc. (Pfizer) and Bayer AG, on behalf of the pharmacies. This enabled the pharmacies to save on the up-front costs of stocking the drugs, reduced supply constraints and ensured availability of drugs to consumers in these underserved markets. The company had a consignment model wherein member pharmacies had to pay only for what they sold. Most pharmacies forecast the number of drugs they needed and purchased them from mPharma at pre-agreed rates. The company took the inventory liability to prevent pharmacies from going out of stock. As mPharma used its purchasing power to buy drugs in large quantities from drug manufacturers and suppliers, it was able to help patients realize cost savings of 30% to 60% in the purchase of medicines. mPharma was focusing on achieving its ambitious goal of dominating the health-care market in Africa in future. However, analysts felt that the company would face challenges related to poor regulation in the health-care market, high prices of drugs and the fragmented pharmacy retail market in the continent.

Complexity academic level

This case is intended for use in MBA/MS level programs as part of a course on Social Entrepreneurship, Sustainability, Business Model Innovation, Disruptive Business Models, and Supply Chain Management in the Drug Industry.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Details

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2045-0621

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