Following the in-country workshop held on May 5, 2021, during which the draft data collection tools were presented to different stakeholders of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, five data collection tools were finalized for business support structures; ecosystem enablers, capital providers, social entrepreneurs and beneficiaries of social enterprises. After collecting data from the field, the Nkafu Policy Institute deemed it necessary to restitute the findings and gather feedback to improve on the results.
It is in this light that an In-Country Restitution workshop on Social Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons learned from business incubation in Cameroon, Burkina Faso, and Ghana was organized on August 27 with participants included business incubators, social entrepreneurs, capital providers, ecosystem enablers and beneficiaries.
Speaking during the session, Fri Asanga, Interim CEO of the Denis and Lenora Foretia Foundation said: “Our responsibility as entrepreneurs, CSOs and state institutions at this restitution workshop is not only to stimulate but also to provide practical, evidence-based solutions for social entrepreneurship to flourish across Africa.”
She equally went forward to salute business support structures taking up the task to accompany entrepreneurs in their business ventures.
“Men are more represented in support structures in Cameroon than women. Knowing the entrepreneurial strength of the latter, it would be good if they get more involved in this sector,” Dr Jean Cedric Kouam said while presenting the findings of the report.
“Many support structures call themselves incubators without knowing where they stand. Besides incubators, there are nurseries, accelerators, brooders and even business hotels.”
The Nkafu Policy Institute, a Thinktank at the Denis and Lenora Foretia Foundation, in partnership with organizations in Ghana (Innohub) and Burkina Faso (Burkina business Incubator), is implementing a two (2) years project.
Funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), this project is entitled: “Social Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons learned from business incubation in Cameroon, Burkina Faso, and Ghana”. Its main objective is to map the business incubation practices in these countries and see how these contribute to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4, 5, 8, 9, and 13 and therefore promote social entrepreneurship.
Source: Pan African Visions
