This study analyses the impact of the use of digital technology on economic growth for 39 African countries from 2012 to 2016. This analysis applies a system GMM estimator to understand the extent to which the usage of digital technology facilitates growth using a measure of digitalisation from the Networked Readiness Index. Unlike previous research, we distinguish between the impact of individual, business, and government ICT usage on growth and show that only individual usage has a positive impact. Furthermore, a disaggregated analysis of the types of usage reveals that two indicators, social media and the importance of ICTs to government vision, are significant for growth.

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PurposeThis article explores how entrepreneurs, banks, the government and alternative lending respond to finance gaps for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). This article considers valuation as a sociological construct where actors use different calculative devices, forming an assemblage that partly positions valuation of entrepreneurial finance as a contested and socially constructed process. Design/methodology/approachDrawing on the concept of 'calculative devices', the study articulates discursive institutional practices embedded within SME lending. This case study draws on analyses of 30 semi-structured interviews and archival data, government reports, and newspaper articles. FindingsThe study identified three triggers in Rwanda that were rooted in the informal and unincorporated nature of the SME governance structure; the lack of capacity for SME owners to manage their own projects; and normalising language around collateral requirements that marginalised the realities of SMEs; contributing to stagnation for SME finance. Practical implicationsThe research provides direction for understanding how calculative devices create new forms of valuation of entrepreneurship in developing countries, particularly when human and non-human actors come together in an assemblage. The study calls for further research to demonstrate the embedded power of valuation practices and the performance of value in entrepreneurial finance. Originality/valueThe study brings new findings to the market creation literature by extending the notion of distributive calculative agency to SME finance. The study mobilises theory to interpret how discursive institutional practices are embedded within a country's finance infrastructure, yielding unintended consequences for SME growth.