Strengthening Youth Entrepreneurship in Africa and Emerging Markets

In the face of severe unemployment and the need for economic development, promoting youth entrepreneurship is a crucial strategy in Africa. In this mission, the rules of the entrepreneurship game have configured two mechanisms, i. entrepreneurship education and ii. the financial and non-financial organizational support system. Nonetheless, indicating the fragility of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, including the two mechanisms, African youth entrepreneurs encounter challenges such as mistrust, non-financial inclusion, lack of leadership, managerial and marketing skills, and lack of risk management, among other things.

As a result of the challenges, youth entrepreneurs are prone to leaving entrepreneurship prematurely or becoming necessity-based rather than opportunity-based entrepreneurs. This has created structural issues in African economies, with a missing middle and top in entrepreneurship.

These challenges of youth entrepreneurs and the African economies demand that we find a third mechanism as a solution. Consequently, this book introduces a third mechanism, the fractal quintuple helix academic spin-offs, to overcome the weaknesses of entrepreneurship education, the financial and non-financial support system, and the remaining actors in the existing entrepreneurial ecosystem.