Young Entrepreneurs in the Mobile Telephony Sector in Ghana: From Necessities to Aspirations

Abstract

Despite increasing research interest in the mobile telephony sector, only a few studies have devoted attention to informal businesses in the sector. Using qualitative field data collected on young mobile telephony entrepreneurs in Accra, this paper argues that despite the businesses being 'informal', they cannot be dismissed as 'necessity' enterprises unworthy of support. On the contrary, many young entrepreneurs have aspirations which are influencing their desire to stay in business. The article thus questions the bifurcated nature of entrepreneurial motivations, using the burgeoning mobile telephony sector as a case study, and draws out implications for policy support for youth-run businesses in the informal sector generally.

Basic formal education quality, information technology, and inclusive human development in sub‐Saharan Africa

“…Second, the literature is consistent on the position that the potential for ICT penetration in SSA is high compared with other regions of the globe experiencing saturation levels (Penard, Poussing, Yebe, & Ella, ; Tchamyou, Erreygers, & Cassimon, ). This has led to a growing stream of literature on the relevance of mobile technologies in development outcomes (Abor, Amidu, & Issahaku, ; Afutu‐Kotey, Gough, & Owusu, ; Asongu, ; Asongu & Boateng, ; Hubani & Wiese, ; Muthinja & Chipeta, ; Tchamyou, ). Unfortunately, the extant literature has failed to assess if poor education quality can decrease the relevance of information technology on inclusive development.…”

Technology, Education, Life and Non-life Insurance in Africa

“…Concerning the theoretical argument underpinning this study, the positioning of the inquiry is within the framework of theoretical exploration because the study is building on sound intuition in order to derive practical consequences that are relevant to policy makers. 1 There is a growing body of African development literature on the importance of information and communication technology for social change, in doing business and economic development (Kuada, 2009;2014;Tony & Kwan, 2015;Afutu-Kotey et al, 2017;Bongomin et al, 2018;Asongu & Boateng, 2018;Gosavi, 2018;Isszhaku et al, 2018;Hubani & Wiese, 2018;Muthinja & Chipeta, 2018;Minkoua Nzie et al, 2018;Abor et al, 2018). Hence, this study is in accordance with recent literature in arguing that applied econometrics should not be exclusively limited to the acceptance and rejection of established theories (Costantini & Lupi, 2005;Narayan et al, 2011). Therefore, an empirical exercise such as this, that is motivated by strong commonsense may provide the basis for theory-building in future works.…”

How Enhancing Information and Communication Technology Has Affected Inequality in Africa for Sustainable Development: An Empirical Investigation

“…The relationships between economic growth, inequality and poverty build on the perspective that the response of poverty to growth is a decreasing function of inequality, such that reducing inequality is crucial to extreme poverty alleviation (Fosu, 2015). In this study, we consider the relevance of ICT in reducing inequality because of the growing importance of information technology in development outcomes in the continent (Asongu, 2013;Penard et al, 2012;Afutu-Kotey et al, 2017;Efobi et al, 2018;Gosavi, 2018;Humbani & Wiese, 2018;Asongu & Odhiambo, 2018a).…”