On Thursday 28th of March, GEN Research hosted our bi-monthly GEN Research field call with guest speakers Phumlani Nkontwana, Stacey-Ann Wilson, Peter Lindelöf. The speakers were invited to discuss their latest research which covered a diverse range of topics from Africa’s first Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Index to a longitudinal study comparing the development of UK and Swedish startup ecosytems.
Phumlani Nkontwana is Academic Director for the Allan Gray Centre for Africa Entrepreneurship (AGCAE). In collaboration with Stellenbosch University, Utrecth University and the Innovation for Policy Foundation. Phumlami has launched The African Entreprenurial Ecosystem Index. The index is the first of its kind on the continent and creates an insightful data structure built around seven key challenges that provide context to the entrepreneurial landscape in Africa. These include governance, culture, support, human capital, finance, market access, and physical infrastructure. The platform provides colour coded score cards for each of the 27 countries with full data coverage allowing policymakers and ecosystem actors to quickly identify weaknesses in their ecosystem. You can read more about the launch of the index here and explore the ranking yourself at www.africa.ecosystem.build.
Stacey-Ann Wilson is a Senior Lecturer in Political Science and the University of the West Indies and Chair of the Advisory Board for the Mona Entrepreneurship and Commercialisation Centre. Stacey-Ann previewed an academic publication proposal focused on elevating entrepreneurship researchers from the Global South. The proposal – which outlines several options for GEN Research to source and publish academic journal articles from researchers in the Global South – will be discussed in greater detail on the next GEN Research members call.
Peter Lindelöf is Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of South-Eastern Norway. Peter discussed his research comparing the historical development of Univeristy Technology Transfer in the UK and Swedish ecosystems. He talked through the methodology of his longitudinal study and outlined the system and organization development of each ecosystem, offering some preliminary findings.The next GEN research meeting is scheduled for the 30th of May with more information to be shared closer to the date.