Special report | Size matters

Africa has too many businesses, too little business

Being your own boss is not the best strategy

Africa Gap
Stack 'em highPhotograph: Joan Bardeletti/Panos Pictures

African policymakers love to champion their continent’s entrepreneurs. For Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s president, small and medium enterprises are the “backbone of Africa’s economy”. “We must support the youth to go beyond looking for jobs,” says Akinwumi Adesina, the head of the African Development Bank (afdb).

This article appeared in the Special report section of the print edition under the headline “Too many, too little”

From the January 11th 2025 edition

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