SMEs - surviving the recession in Africa

Guest post by: Dr. Rob Smorfitt
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SMEs and entrepreneurs in Africa - By Dr. Rob Smorfitt

Can SMEs survive the recession in Africa? I believe they can.

The secret is to shift away from supplying to other international markets which are contracting, and to focus on the African markets.

They may not always be as sophisticated, and certain markets may not exist, but many SMEs could make the shift to African marrkets.

Large parts of Africa are still growing despite the global financial recession. The improvement in democracy in Africa, although patchy and weak, is happening nonetheless. This is in turn leading to infrastructural investment which is stimulating the markets, together with the demand for commodities with the Chinese gladly assisting in the extraction thereof. Angola is flying as are other countries.

There is obviously credit risk among other forms of risk, but many African governments understand and recognise this, and offer their citizens insurance against the risks associated with Africa. South Africa does.

The secret is to educate Africa into understanding that there is greater prosperity in commerce than in corruption, and it is also more sustainable.

The African diaspora need to start lobbying to change the African context, and not simply write great stories from the comfort of New York. Come back and make a difference.

Regards

Dr Rob Smorfitt

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SMEs and entrepreneurs in Africa - By Dr. Rob Smorfitt

About the Author: Dr. Rob Smorfitt

RSS for Dr. Rob's articles - Visit Dr. Rob's website
Have an MBA and a PhD in entrepreneurship. Three key areas of ongoing research are entrepreneurship and innovation in large business strategy, the impact of legislation on SME development and SME finance. Run my own SME blog at http://sme-smb-smme.blogspot.com as well as an entrepreneurship and innovation for large businesses blog at http://innoveur.blogspot.com. I have been self-employed since 1982. I have started or purchased in excess of 50 businesses since then. Most were sold again and a few were shut down because of a lack of profitability. Many were run by staff or family while I worked full time in my bigger businesses. Author of 6 books. Written articles for various magazines, newspapers and websites. Experienced in research within developing countries.
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SMEs - surviving the recession in Africa

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