Experts focus on growing entrepreneurial ecosystems

The Carnegie Mellon University Africa (CMU-Africa) Center for Inclusive Digital Transformation of Africa recently held the Summit on Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, which focused on the growth of entrepreneurial ecosystems to support startups in African economies. This marked the second year for the summit.

“The event is designed to foster a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities within Africa’s entrepreneurial landscape and develop practical strategies for building and sustaining robust entrepreneurial ecosystems, ultimately creating pathways to opportunities for African youth,” said João Barros, co-chair of the event and professor of electrical and computer engineering at CMU-Africa. Jesse Thornburg, assistant teaching professor at CMU-Africa, also served as co-chair.

The one-day event brought together more than 50 individuals from the African Engineering and Technology Network and other African universities, representing a diverse group of leading researchers, practitioners, policy makers, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders who explored the dynamics of entrepreneurial ecosystems in Africa.

Building on the success of the first summit, CMU-Africa’s center worked with Erik Stam, professor of strategy, organization, and entrepreneurship at Utrecht University School of Economics in the Netherlands. Stam is also with the Allan Gray Centre for Africa Entrepreneurship at Stellenbosch University in South Africa.

Stam facilitated a discussion on the topic Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in Africa. Barros led a session on interactive design thinking on entrepreneurial ecosystem development.

Other topics included transformative entrepreneurship in Africa, startups and scale ups in Rwanda, use of AI for uncovering entrepreneurial journeys in Africa, infrastructure for entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurship research outside of “WEIRD” (western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic) contexts. The term “WEIRD” was coined by Dean A. Shepherd, professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Notre Dame, who gave a keynote remotely at the summit.

While the education sessions provided practical skills for building and sustaining robust entrepreneurial ecosystems, participants also had the opportunity to foster relationships and build connections through networking.

Expected long-term outcomes of the summit are sustainable economic growth, driving innovation and employment across Afretec partner countries and beyond, and influencing policy in Africa, stimulating ongoing academic research worldwide, and enhancing the support structure for entrepreneurship across Africa.

“The topics and strategies addressed by the summit are directly in line with and contribute to the goal of creating pathways to opportunities for African youth, specifically for uncovering the conditions for the effective creation of highly productive entrepreneurial ecosystems that generate well paid, dignified jobs for young people in Africa,” Barros said. “CMU-Africa was excited to once again host this important event.”