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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.

While Tanzania has been at the forefront of creating a positive legal framework and political context for gender equality, certain legal, regulatory, and administrative barriers still hinder women's full participation in private sector development. This report analyzes these barriers and makes recommendations for needed change, to ensure women's full contribution to private sector development and economic growth in Tanzania. Building on intensive stakeholder consultations and the findings of numerous studies, notably the MKURABITA diagnostic and the 2003/4 Investment Climate Assessments for Tanzania and Zanzibar, this report examines these gender-related barriers to growth and investment. It highlights legal and administrative constraints that have a disproportionately negative effect on female-headed businesses, and makes recommendations for needed reforms. Addressing these issues would not only help unlock the full economic potential of women, but would help improve the environment for all businesses in Tanzania. While Tanzania's economic growth has been strong, this report finds that if the country were to bring female secondary schooling and female total years of schooling to the same level as now enjoyed by males, this could produce up to an additional annual percentage point of growth - a valuable contribution to achieving the 6-8 percent annual growth targets of the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP or MKUKUTA).

This study uses data from the new Kauffman Firm Survey to explore gender differences in the use of start-up capital and subsequent financial injections by new firms. We find that, consistent with previous studies, women start their businesses with significantly lower levels of financial capital than men. A new finding from this research is that women go on to raise significantly lower amounts of incremental debt and equity in years two and three. These results hold even controlling for a variety of firm and owner characteristics, including the level of initial start-up capital and firm sales. Our findings also reveal that women rely heavily on personal rather than external sources of debt and equity for both start-up capital as well as follow-on investments. Our findings have implications for further research into gender differences in financing sources and strategies and business outcomes.

This study uses unique hand-collected data from a televised entrepreneurial pitch competition to examine gender differences in obtaining angel financing. Results indicate that while the yield rates between male and female teams do not differ, a gender disparity in the amount of angel funding does in fact exist. Female teams receive less capital and provide more equity relative to their male counterparts, even when controlling for typical determinants of investment, such as industry and prior company success. Further, we find that female teams receive investments with lower valuations than their male counterparts largely because they initially offer higher equity stakes for less capital. Thus, this suggests that limitations to angel financing of female entrepreneurial ventures may be partly self-imposed.

Personal branding has become a common practice in the business world. In a knowledge-based economy, this seems to be a natural direction for the development of individuals’ professional activities. However, the diversity in the activities undertaken is significant. Therefore, it is important to examine not only the final results of the activities undertaken but also their internal variation and sources, which can influence the long-term development of the individual and the ability to maintain these activities in the long term. The purpose of this article is to present the results of research on the impact of an individual’s start-up capital and occupation on the diversification of activities undertaken while building a personal brand. Literature research was conducted to identify the components of start-up capital and to establish the relationship between the personal branding process and the start-up capital possessed. The empirical research used a diagnostic survey method, a questionnaire technique. It was conducted among a representative sample of Polish internet users in May 2021. Analyses revealed relationships between individual components of start-up capital and the variation in personal branding activities undertaken, as well as among those in occupations requiring creativity, broad decision-making and dependence on individual performance. The study provides relevant information for the discussion on how the concept of personal branding can be practically applied among people from different social and professional groups.

This study examines the determinants influencing Vietnamese startup firms' access to finance through Fintech platforms. Drawing on survey data and employing the Heckman two-stage estimation procedure, this research investigates how internal firm characteristics, such as R&D investment intensity, capital sources, industry classification, and revenue growth, affect the likelihood of securing Fintech-based funding. The results reveal that firms with prior capital access, high R&D-to-revenue ratios, and recent capital-raising activity are more inclined to access Fintech finance. Conversely, startups that rely predominantly on government support or external equity tend to have lower engagement with Fintech solutions. Moreover, sectoral variation exists, with specific industries displaying greater compatibility with Fintech models due to differing capital needs and innovation profiles. The study contributes to the growing literature on entrepreneurial finance and Fintech by providing empirical evidence from an emerging market context. It also offers policy implications to enhance financial inclusion and support innovation, emphasizing the need for legal frameworks to foster Fintech development, targeted support for R&D-driven startups, and stronger collaboration between Fintechs and traditional financial institutions. By identifying key enablers and constraints of Fintech adoption, this research provides practical insights for startups, policymakers, and investors seeking to navigate Vietnam’s evolving financial landscape.

Research has demonstrated that psychological strengths have important influences on entrepreneurial behavior. The current study explored the interaction between entrepreneurs' positive psychological capital and startup capital in leading to entrepreneurial success. Focus is on how owners of small scale enterprises use their psychological strengths to achieve their business goals. Using a sample of 384 entrepreneurs selected from the two leading business districts in Uganda, we observe that optimism is the component of psychological capital that significantly moderates the relationship between startup capital and entrepreneurial success. Both startup capital and psychological capital are significant predictors of entrepreneurial success; however, psychological capital is the better predictor. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings on entrepreneurial behavior, success and entrepreneurship promotion interventions are discussed.

This paper studies the difference between startup investments by private equity funds (buyout funds; PE) and venture capital funds (VC). PEs, which have traditionally invested in mature companies, have been increasingly investing in later-stage startups in recent years. Based on Crunchbase's data on EU startup investments from 2011 to the first half of 2021, we find that: (1) later-stage VC-backed startups and PE-backed startups differ in terms of the industry domain, (2) PE-backed startups tend to have higher revenue when they receive investments, and (3) VC-backed startups are more likely to exit via Initial Public Offering (IPO) and slightly less likely to exit via Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) than PE-backed startups. These results connect previous studies on VC and PE and deepen our understanding of later-stage startup investment. It also suggests that PE invests differently than VCs and provides new added value to the startup ecosystem. In addition, it adds insights into corporate behavior in new business domain expansion.

East Asia and the Pacific is a region of dynamic growth. Women have contributed significantly to this growth and have benefited from it through active participation in the labor market. However, women are still disproportionately represented in the informal sector and in low paid work. Efforts to identify barriers to women's business and entrepreneurial activities in the region are critical not only to facilitate inclusive growth in a national context but also to counter the increasing trend of female migratory flows in the region. This report highlights' both the challenges and the economic opportunities for businesswomen in the region offers some useful potential pointers for reform.

Purpose Drawing on the resource-based view, this study aims to examine how family involvement in migrant-founded small businesses gives rise to distinctive resources that help these businesses survive. Design/methodology/approach Using microdata from the 2007 US survey of business owners (SBO), this study uses logit regression modeling to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings Results show that small businesses founded by migrant entrepreneurs are less likely to survive and that family involvement weakens the negative relationship between founder migrant status and business survivability. In addition, the positive moderating effect associated with family involvement is further strengthened by the use of external/borrowing startup capital, thus migrant families founded small businesses with access to external capital have the highest probability of survival. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on both migrant entrepreneurship and family business. This paper finds family involvement in the business, interacting with the founder’s migrant status, tends to create distinctive resource endowments that help to compensate for the resource constraints associated with migrant entrepreneurs. Such resource endowments may take the form of high levels of solidarity among migrant family members and the spanning role of the migrant kinship networks extended from the country of origin to the country of residence.