At Least 1 in 5 African Youth Plan to Start a Business

Gallup surveys in 27 African countries and areas underscore the interest young people in the region have in entrepreneurship. A median of one in five Africans between the ages of 15 and 24 who are not already business owners say they plan to start their own business in the next 12 months, although they are less likely than those aged 25 to 35 to have these plans. In general, young women are as likely as young men to report plans to launch a business.

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Gallup finds African youth believe they can rely on social networks to launch their businesses. A median of about 6 in 10 African women (57%) and men (61%) between the ages of 15 and 24 say they trust someone other than a family member enough to make them a partner in starting a business. Similar proportions of women and men in the older age group (aged 25 to 35) say the same.

Young Africans -- whether they are currently thinking about starting a business -- paint a mixed picture in terms of starting and running a business, be it a formal or informal venture. They are relatively positive about the safety of assets and the potential financial success of their business, but fewer find the paperwork process and access to loan money easy enough for would-be entrepreneurs. It is important to note that young people in the older age group as well as both genders share similar views.

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Young people in different countries, particularly those in sub-Saharan and northern Africa have different views about some aspects of entrepreneurship. Young people residing in northern African countries are less likely than their counterparts south of the Sahara to say they plan to start a business. Young people's perceptions about business outcomes in northern Africa are generally less positive than those in sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, young people in each region found more agreement with respect to ease of business entry and trust in business partners.

Gallup finds other country differences across income groups. Intent to start a business among those aged 15 to 24 is highest in low-income rather than middle-income countries, and ranges from 3% in Morocco to 40% in Uganda. In many of the countries and areas surveyed in Africa, majorities of young people believe they can trust non-relatives to be their business partners, although in the Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Libya, and Tanzania, less than 50% of young people believe they can.

For complete data sets or custom research from the more than 150 countries Gallup continually surveys, please contact SocialandEconomicAnalysis@gallup.com or call 202.715.3030.

Read more here http://www.gallup.com/poll/148271/Least-African-Youth-Plan-Start-Business.aspx

2011 AFRICA AWARDS FOR ENTREPRENUERSHIP

Legatum is the owner and founder of the Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship. Legatum is a private investment group, based in Dubai, with a twenty-five year heritage of global investing. We manage a multi-billion dollar fund of proprietary capital which is allocated to businesses and programmes that promote sustainable development. For more information, please visit Legatum’s website at www.legatum.com.

Legatum is pleased to be joined by Omidyar Network as a major sponsor of the 2011 Africa Awards. Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm dedicated to harnessing the power of markets to create opportunity for people to improve their lives.To learn more, visit www.omidyar.com.

The objectives of the Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship are:

• To promote the value of entrepreneurship as a driving force of today’s Africa
• To celebrate the standards of business excellence within Africa
• To encourage small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs to embrace the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship
• To build strong networks of African entrepreneurs as a source of learning and sharing of best practice
• To attract more venture capital inflows towards good businesses across Africa

Enter Now

The Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship recognises and rewards business leaders who serve as role models to Africa’s aspiring entrepreneurs and who demonstrate business excellence, innovation and profitability.

Online entries may be submitted until 24 August 2011. Entry is open to all firms that have revenues between US$ 1 million to $15 million; have been profitable for at least two years; are independent, and not a subsidiary of a larger organisation; have more than 10 employees; are fully registered in their home country and free of legal actions.

One Grand Prize of US$ 100, 000 will be awarded along with five further prizes of US$ 50,00 each; two of these prizes will be reserved for businesses with less than US$ 2 million in revenue.

Read more here http://www.africaawards.com/ and here www.legatum.com.

Connecting Small & Medium-sized Enterprises with Investors MYC4 Way

MYC4 is an online marketplace that connects people from all over the world – just like you and me – with African entrepreneurs, who lack capital to develop their businesses. With the Internet as infrastructure, MYC4 bridges the gap between people with needs and people with means.


How it Works
The MYC4 marketplace is built around a network of local Providers, who screen the businesses looking for a loan, and local MYC4 Administrators, who handle financial transactions. All businesses go through a thorough investigation process to make sure they provide healthy economic prospects for growth. This due diligence process includes for instance a background check of the business, track record and whether the business is involved in anything that conflicts with MYC4’s values and Code of Conduct. This process ensures that the businesses are solid and have good prospects in terms of sustainability, repayment and return on investment.

Read more here http://www.myc4.com
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