{"id":5159,"date":"2019-09-06T14:36:58","date_gmt":"2019-09-06T11:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africasustainabilitymatters.com\/?p=5159"},"modified":"2026-01-11T05:30:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T05:30:31","slug":"subsistence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/2019\/09\/06\/subsistence\/","title":{"rendered":"Subsistence Entrepreneurship, Awakening Africa\u2019s Economic Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The development of Africa as an emerging\neconomy is one of the highlights of globalization but currently, the economy has been rife<\/a> with turmoil. Despite the abundance of natural resources,\npoverty levels have risen and there are high levels of corruption, equality,\nsuffocating economic environments, insecurity, and ethnoreligious crisis. The\ncontinent is better placed to develop a well-diversified economy but it is at the\ncrossroads of a momentous transition into the diversified economy. However,\nthere are early signs that entrepreneurs are creating positive effects that are\nawakening to the economic benefits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most people imagine the 21st<\/sup>-century entrepreneurs in Africa as a frontier fantasia: the popular imagination of steady macro-economic growth rates and a youthful entrepreneurial population. But the reality is more sordid. In Africa, there are a large number of tiny businesses- \u201csubsistence\u201d and a few very large businesses, \u201ctransformational<\/a>.\u201d For instance, Uganda which is ranked amongst the most entrepreneurial<\/a> countries in the world has most enterprises driven by necessity rather than an opportunity. Generally, entrepreneurship here is hardly an innovation so much as a survival kit. The vast majority of them are trapped in a \u201csurvival and maintenance\u201d cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read\nAlso: Urban Sprawl and Sustainability, What Gives?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subsistence entrepreneurs run tiny operations\nthat do not grow into larger firms but merely provide an alternative employment\nopportunity to the entrepreneur and potentially their family members. Subsistence\nimplies a struggle to survive<\/a>, not an effort to build a business that thrives. However, these\nenterprises contribute to the economy in their unique way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a continent that sees unemployment ranked as\none of the largest scourge, subsistence entrepreneurship has vast potential to\noffer individuals with employment opportunities. Taking the example of the\nlocal vendors “mama mboga” whom a majority of us depend on for daily\nnecessities such as tomatoes- she can provide for her daily needs and sustain\nher family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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subsistence entrepreneurship has vast potential to offer individuals with employment|photo|cio.co.ke<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Contrary to popular belief, subsistence\nentrepreneurs do not rely heavily on financial support from investors or\nventure capitalists. Instead, they tend to lie on their own or family savings\nhence promoting independence amongst the youth which in turn reduces crime\nrates in a country. Citizens who are independent help stir up the economy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The big\nquestion is how to make them sustainable. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smallholders are an important part of the development equation. However, they are not a homogenous group and development policies should not rate them as such. Instead, the development pathways of smallholders consist of dynamic processes that vary according to the constraints they face and the stage of economic transformation. While some smallholders have the potential to undertake profitable commercial activities, other enterprises should be supported. Subsistence business with profit potential is risky in the face of climate change, price shocks, limited financing options and inadequate access to healthy and nutritious food. These entrepreneurs can successfully adapt their livelihood strategies to these challenges but need a supportive policy environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Smallholders are an important part of the development equation|photo|sloganreview.mit.edu<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Finances play a major role in the growth of any\nbusiness. To sustainably grow enterprises from subsistence to transformational,\nthere is a need to rely on channels and organizations that effectively foster\nthe selection and financing of these entrepreneurs. These investors support an\nemerging class of subsistence entrepreneurs<\/a> to build their businesses. An improvement in the liquidity\nof public markets can contribute to a more vibrant market of investment and\neconomic growth.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subsistence entrepreneurs do not act in isolation\non the market scale. Competition from the transformational entrepreneurs easily\nknocks them out of the market. There is a need to regulate the market policies\nthat will protect them from the competition. For instance, in India, large\nfirms of more than 20 employees are prevented from accessing the retail markets<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A broad spectrum of interventions is fundamental\nto unlocking the potential of small enterprises and supporting the scale-up of\nsmallholder participation in markets. Reliable financing, strong public sector\nsupport and an enabling environment for private sector investments are all\nrequired to underpin the transformation from subsistence to successful small\nenterprises. At the same time, policy reform is required to unlock the latent\npotential of small entrepreneurs. Expanding access to knowledge, finance,\ntechnology, and markets are crucial to improve the business eco-system. Only\nthen, will small be beautiful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The development of Africa as an emerging economy is one of the highlights of globalization but currently, the economy has been rife with turmoil. Despite the abundance of natural resources,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5160,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economic-responsibility"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}