I&P launches the blog "Entreprenante Afrique", in partnership with Ferdi and the African Club of Entrepreneurs

Initiated by Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P), the Foundation for Studies and Research on International Development (Ferdi) and the African Club of Entrepreneurs, the blog Entreprenante Afrique is a direct and logical continuation of the eponymous book published in 2016 by Jean-Michel Severino and Jérémy Hajdenberg. Its objective: to witness and promote entrepreneurial momentum in Africa, by sharing entrepreneurial stories and helping us to better understand the context in which African entrepreneurs work

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An innovative combination of practice and research to encourage entrepreneurial dynamism in sub-saharan africa

The situation on the African continent has changed significantly over the past fifteen years, with overall strong macroeconomic performance, significant changes in economic policies, and major demographic transformations. But despite the improvement of numerous social indicators, the well-being of African populations has not improved enough. Inequalities have increased significantly. At current growth rates, the absolute number of poor will continue to grow. Economies have not diversified sufficiently and their productivity has increased slightly, despite a strong entrepreneurial boom. Accelerating entrepreneurial dynamism is fundamental to the sustainability of African growth. Serving the domestic market created by the continent's population growth requires new generations of businesses to provide the goods and services Africans need. This expansion is also essential to create the 450 million jobs needed to absorb the growing number of workers by 2050.

It is in view of such challenges that Ferdi, I&P and the African Club of Entrepreneurs are jointly launching this blog dedicated to African entrepreneurship. It follows several key objectives, as explained by Jean-Michel Severino, CEO of Investisseurs & Partenaires: “The idea is first to learn and better understand this subject by consulting all stakeholders, starting with the entrepreneurs themselves. We also wish to stimulate and highlight public or private initiatives to promote responsible African entrepreneurship, and encourage exchanges and discussions between entrepreneurs to improve the strategy and management of their companies”.

Entreprenante Afrique intends to meet these objectives by combining experience and research, testimony and analysis, direct exchanges and discussion papers. “This original combination of practice and research, on a constantly evolving subject, will allow the interaction of points of view. It will feed with each other’s contributions the searcher as well as the entrepreneur operating its company” says Patrick Guillaumont, President of the Ferdi.

A collaborative platform to express ideas and exchange best practices

Entreprenante Afrique will gather research articles, experience sharing and field testimonies on African businesses. The articles are classified into three main categories:

• Testimonies: sharing its daily experience and career path

• Insights: giving an understanding of a particular issue

• Opinions: writing a committed article, open for debate

The blog is an open platform and a resource designed for African entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs-to-be, for those promoting African entrepreneurship (investors, networks, incubators, business angels, advisors, development actors…) and for researchers who wish to share their knowledge or better understand the African context.

It is open to external contributors in order to cross points of view, and to enrich the debates through concrete experiences, as pointed out by Sidi Khalifou, Director of the Mauritanian company CDS and President of the African Club of Entrepreneurs: “I appreciate how important it is for African entrepreneurs to be able to share and exchange their daily experiences, achievements and challenges, not only with a view to improving good practices, but also to make their voices heard in public institutions. The blog will be a very useful advocacy tool in this regard, and we hope very much to interest and gather the views of all stakeholders interested in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and its development”.

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