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List of contents
Preface -- Introduction: The Case for African Private Enterprise -- Overview of the Conference -- Introduction to Part 1 -- Round Table 1: Private Enterprise in the Development Process -- Round Table 2: Small and Medium-Sized Businesses as a Vehicle for Growth -- Round Table 3: Strategies for the Expansion of Markets and Trade -- Selected Conference Materials -- Opening Address -- Plenary Session Address -- Private Initiative in Africa: A Problem of Clarity -- Foreign Debts and African Economies with Special Reference to West Africa -- Bridging the Financial Gap: The Creative Use of Venture Capital in Africa -- The Local Private Sector and Socialism in Algeria -- State and Structural Influences on Private Initiative: An East Asian Case -- Market and State in Development Analysis: Beyond Normative Quarrels -- The Role of Multinational Enterprises in the Promotion of Private Initiative in the Ivory Coast -- Private Initiative and Development Strategies in Africa -- Appendix A: Papers Presented -- Appendix B: Participants
Summary
This book explores what is, for many African countries, a new and controversial policy of relying on private actors rather than on government organizations to foster economic growth and development. The contributors explore key issues such as the impact of private enterprise on the development process, small- and medium-sized businesses as a vehicle for growth, and strategies for the expansion of markets and trade. The contributors analyze the historical, social, cultural, and economic obstacles to the development of private enterprise in Africa; the roles of government, women, and business organizations; access to capital and the function of financial institutions; private initiative and agriculture; the use of skilled and semi-skilled labor; and technology transfer. Arguing that private sector forces are crucial to African socioeconomic development, the contributors recommend economic policy reform, establishment of more private enterprises, and encouragement of new domestic and foreign investment.
