Recently, the question of why entrepreneurship is important to Africa has been on my mind a great deal. I am voicing this question for anyone who may be reading this post or blog and saying to themselves-yeah that’s great but what about some of the other issues which adversely affect many of Africa’s populations. For me, my thoughts are that entrepreneurship is probably one of the best ways to address some of the challenges that are faced by various African nations. But since I am writing this with you, my readers in mind, your thoughts are just as important-if not more important than mine. To clarify what I meant in that last statement here is something that I came across from Enterprise Africa, which I think comes very close to summing up my thoughts on the topic:
“Entrepreneurship is the true engine of economic growth. Entrepreneurs create value in many ways: providing goods or services for consumers, jobs for employees, vital information to other economic actors, and expanding the local tax base. Economies grow when they create institutions that promote these useful activities while limiting incentives to engage in destructive (rent-seeking or criminal) entrepreneurship.Before the colonial era, many areas in Africa benefited from extensive trading relations. Gold was shipped from Mali across the Sahara to Libya in exchange for salt and to Egypt for ceramics, silks and other Asian and European goods; Ghanaians controlled much of the trans-Sahara trade in copper and ivory; at Great Zimbabwe gold was traded for Chinese pottery and glass; in Nigeria, leather and iron goods were traded throughout West Africa. Today, Africans are still trading and finding ways to create wealth for themselves and their communities. Whether working locally or internationally, they are taking their unique talents and abilities to the marketplace to satisfy the needs of neighbors and strangers alike. Unfortunately, their powerful stories aren’t well known.”
Source: Enterprise Africa
But again, your thoughts and feelings on this matter are highly important to me. And though many of my readers and I have begun to forge some really nice ties, sometimes it still feels like The Benin Epilogue could do more to deliver the topics that most directly address your needs as it pertains to business in Africa.
So, this time we are doing something a little bit different and I would really appreciate it if you would be able to participate. Below there are two survey links, you may choose either one or you can both. The 1st link is a 1-question opinion poll asking how important you believe entrepreneurship is to Africa’s economies. The link below it asks what is the nature of your interest in entrepreneurship in Africa-is it because you do business there, do you want to start a business there, or are you interested in buying African products for import to another part of the world? It will only take a second and most importantly it will give me deeper insights as to which topics you feel are most relevant to your particular situation.
Thank you very much, my friends, you really don’t know how much your input means to me!
Multiple Choice Question 1) How important do you think entrepreneurship is to Africa’s economies?
Click here to take our Online Survey
-Or-
Multiple Choice Question 2) Why are you interested in entrepreneurship as it relates to Africa?
Click here to take our Online Survey
The quote you used regarding being THE ENGINE for social transformation sums it up neatly. 
