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The private sector is the engine of economic growth, stimulating entrepreneurship and innovation and promoting competition and productivity. While many countries in Africa have developed private sector-driven growth strategies, private investment as a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) is only 13 percent in Africa, significantly lower than in other regions, such as South Asia, with many low-income countries. The public sector still occupies the lion's share of economic activity in Africa. This study addresses how industrial clusters could be a springboard for the development of Africa's micro and small enterprise sector, which constitutes the bulk of the region's indigenous private sector. The successful development of industrial clusters in Asia illustrates how small enterprises can help to drive growth led by market expansion at home and abroad.

This edited volume contains eight studies of financial sector challenges in Africa that served as background studies for Financing Africa: Through the Crisis and Beyond. One of the major challenges for African financial systems is to expand financial services to a larger share of the population. The chapters in this area cover microfinance in Africa, the role of technology, reforms of payment infrastructure, and financing agriculture. Two chapters cover challenges in increasing long-term finance; one covers housing finance and the other the role of sovereign wealth fund. The book also contains a detailed discussion of bank regulation and supervision, especially in light of the current regulatory reforms in Europe and North America. The final chapter provides a political economy perspective, discussing the conditions for activist government policies in the financial sector.

Using a comprehensive dataset on micro, small, and medium enterprises in India, we examine whether the gender of the owner matters in firm performance and in credit access from institutional sources. The study finds significant underperformance in the size, growth, and efficiency of firms owned by women when compared to those owned by men. In line with the evidence in the existing literature, our findings also support the view that women-owned firms are disadvantaged in the market for small-business credit. These findings suggest that addressing gender discrimination in the small-business credit market could help, partly, in bridging the performance gap between male-and female-owned firms.

In this paper, we investigate whether innovative small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are more likely to be discouraged from applying for external finance than non-innovators. These so-called discouraged borrowers are credit worthy SMEs who choose not to apply for external finance despite the fact that this is needed. We find that SMEs undertaking pure product and joint product and process innovation have a significantly higher incidence of borrower discouragement than non-innovative counterparts. Moreover, radical and incremental product innovators are more likely to be discouraged relative to non-innovative counterparts. Innovative activity can increase borrower discouragement for a myriad of reasons including fear of rejection, reluctance to take on additional risk, negative perceptions of the funding application process and perceived negative economic conditions. Overall, our results suggest a need for targeted policy interventions in order to alleviate borrower discouragement within innovative SMEs, as well as a closer alignment between innovation and SME finance policy.Plain English SummaryInnovative SMEs play a crucial role in driving technological change and productivity growth. Therefore, understanding the factors shaping access to finance for innovative SMEs is of crucial importance to the economy. We investigate the potential impact of innovation activity on the incidence of borrower discouragement, credit worthy firms who choose not to apply for external finance despite the fact that it is required. The results of our empirical investigation suggest that SMEs undertaking pure product and joint product and process innovation have a significantly higher incidence of borrower discouragement than non-innovative counterparts. The principal implication of this study is that innovation is a factor, which self-limits access to finance for innovative SMEs. We offer recommendations to mitigate borrower discouragement in this context.

Countries everywhere are divided into two distinct spatial realms: one urban, one rural. Classic models of development predict faster growth in the urban sector, causing rapid migration from rural areas to cities, lifting average incomes in both places. The process continues until the marginal productivity of labor is equalized across the two realms. The pattern of rising urbanization accompanying economic growth has become one of the most visible and self-evident empirical facts of development across the world, with almost 200,000 people making the rural-to-urban trek every day, according to the United Nations. Cities across the world are powering growth, development, and modernization. The study then takes a close look at Diepsloot, a large township in the Johannesburg Metropolitan Area, to bring out more vividly the economic realities and choices of township residents. Although atypical in many ways, by the virtue of being newer, poorer, and more informal, with a bigger concentration of migrants (many of them foreign nationals), than the historically established townships, Diepsloot also retains many of the economic characteristics of South African townships: Issues of joblessness, uneven access to basic public services, and overwhelming levels of crime and violence are almost as pervasive in Diepsloot as they are in other T&IS. At the same time, an emergent informal sector more visibly pervades the township than seen in the average township, which makes it a particularly useful place to study in order to develop an understanding of the kinds of economic activities that are feasible in townships. It focuses particularly on the nature of business activity in the township, the key investment-climate constraints faced by its firms, income and expenditure patterns across households, and some aggregative social and human indicators. In a first attempt of its kind for a township, the report also develops a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) of Diepsloot for a comprehensive and consistent picture of the place, including the circular flow of income within the township, the nature of its interaction with the rest of the South African economy, and a simple multiplier analysis of its economy.

Motivated by the international business literature that examines the interactions between organizations, corruption, and political forces, we examine whether and how government connections affect small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) credit access around the world. Using a sample of SMEs across 30 developing countries, we show that SMEs with government connections are significantly less likely to be discouraged from approaching banks for a loan as compared to SMEs without such connections. However, connected SMEs do not receive preferential lending from banks. Moreover, the nature of this effect depends on the institutional setting. Specifically, the effect becomes stronger in countries with high levels of corruption, suggesting that government connections are substitutes for poorly functioning formal institutions. Our findings have important implications for policies targeted at reducing corruption, improving access to financing, facilitating entrepreneurship, and attracting foreign investment.

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China have been hit hard by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, which has jeopardized their going out of business altogether. As a result, this research will shed light on the long-term impacts of COVID-19 lockdown on small businesses worldwide. The information was gathered through a survey questionnaire that 313 people completed. Analyzing the model was accomplished through the use of SEM in this investigation. Management and staff at SMEs worldwide provided the study's data sources. Research shows that COVID-19 has a significantly bad influence on profitability, operational, economic, and access to finance. In the study's findings, outside funding aids have played an important role in SMEs' skill to persist and succeed through technological novelty than in their real output. SME businesses, administrations, and policymakers need to understand the implications of this study's results.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between financial literacy, access to finance and growth among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the Midlands region of the UK. It assesses whether financial literacy assists SMEs to overcome information asymmetry, mitigates the need for collateral, optimizes capital structure and improves access to finance.Design/methodology/approachTo gain a deeper insight into the complex relationship between financial literacy, access to finance and growth, a qualitative research is carried out among SMEs that have operated for over five years or longer. Using the purposive sampling technique, 37 firms were selected based on size, location and characteristics, mainly from the city of Birmingham and the joining conurbations. Open-ended and a combination of dichotomous questions were used for the survey. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and thematically analyzed.FindingsFinancial literacy is an interconnecting resource that mitigates information asymmetry and collateral deficit when evaluating loan applications, therefore financial literacy should be part of school curriculum. The analysis suggests enhanced financial literacy, reduces monitoring cost and serves to optimize firms’ capital structure that positively impacts on SMEs growth. Financial management knowledge is recognized as the core resource that aids an effective decision making by owners of SMEs.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitation of this research is the small sample that limits its generalization. Its findings could be enhanced by a larger sample and by conducting comparative studies in other regions or economies. SMEs growth is seen as a strategic policy to stimulate enterprise but the finance gap tends to constrain that objective. The UK Government’s effort to improve access to finance and to mitigate excessive collateral demands by lenders has proved elusive. This empirical research provides evidence that financial literacy enhances access to finance and, in turn, promotes growth potentials.Practical implicationsThe results of this study advocate the provision of financial literacy at schools and target support for SMEs to acquire financial management skills in order to mitigate information asymmetry between lenders and borrowers.Social implicationsFindings suggest that financial literacy mediates access to finance, enables enterprises to use optimal financial structure to mitigate business failure, creates employment and reduces public sector support for social benefits.Originality/valueThis study is novel in that it examines financial literacy and its implications for access to finance and firm growth in the UK. The study is an effort to highlight the role of financial information in mitigating barriers to finance for SMEs.

Purpose: To meet the needs of the public, the government has provided an official financial institution, which is subject to a certain series of administrations with all the calculations. The problem is that not all community members understand access to finance at these financial institutions. There are Islamic banking, BMT, and Sharia KSPPS, but in borrowing money they choose moneylenders. This problem is influenced by the ease of borrowing money from moneylenders, which are more flexible and the method of payment can be adjusted according to a special agreement between the customer and the moneylender. Disbursement of funds that can be done at any time according to the time needed, without being bound by conditions that are considered complicated by the customer. As a form of compensation, the interest charged by moneylenders is high and burdensome for the borrower. The risk of high-interest rates is often not taken into account by the borrower.   Design/Methodology/Approach: The method for developing public financial literacy is what the moneylender's practice as the object of observation. To be realized as an effort for educational methods is to conduct an analysis of moneylenders in the community and explore how people depend on moneylenders, evaluate financial behavior in the community, deconstruct financial behavior and re-conceptualize public financial behavior.   Findings: Socialization and acceleration of the marketing of financial products from the BMT, or official government financial institutions need to be carried out to prevent the level of community dependence on moneylenders, including by expanding financial literacy in the community, establishing management education methods, and implementing finance that is more inclusive in the community.   Research, Practical & Social Implications: The necessities of life for each individual in the community will certainly not be the same, to be able to fulfill the purpose of these needs it is financed by the availability of funds or financial means. There are members of the community who are relatively able to meet their financing needs, but not a few of the community have not met their needs.   Originality/Value: This study seeks to help the government and society in Indonesia to have a good education in terms of financial literacy, people need information and knowledge that currently in Indonesia there are many formal and legal financial institutions to help financial problems faced by people in Indonesia. Indonesian people are no longer just dependent on moneylenders or illegal financial institutions, which will instead trap them into new financial problems.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how alertness enable small and medium scale enterprise (SME) owners to leverage their individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) such as risk-taking, pro-activity, innovation, passion and perseverance in a better way to recognize opportunities for financial resources as compared to their counterparts who are not alert. Moreover, it elaborates on the mediating role of opportunity recognition of financial resources between IEO and SMEs’ access to finance (AF). Design/methodology/approach A three-wave time-lagged survey from a stratified sample of 271 small and medium scale business owners in Pakistan was conducted and the data were analysed using PROCESS models 1 and 4. Findings The findings grounded in the theory of Action Regulation, signify that the IEO of small and medium scale business owners helps them attain financial resources through opportunity recognition capacity which is an action characteristic. Moreover, the IEO of SME owners, coupled with entrepreneurial alertness (EA; a cognitive pre-action state), amplifies their ability to recognize opportunities for financial resource availability. Originality/value This is one of the initial studies to test the IEO scale, including passion and perseverance. Moreover, it has added to the individual-level antecedents of AF in small and medium scale businesses through the role of EA and opportunity recognition.