New Entrepreneurs and High Performance Enterprises in the Middle East and North Africa

Table of Contents

• Cover 1
• Table of Contents 8
• Acronyms and glossary of terms 12
• E 12
• G 12
• H 12
• I 12
• L 12
• M 12
• N 12
• O 12
• P 12
• S 12
• R 12
• W 12
• Executive summary 14
• Chapter 1. Making the case for high growth enterprises 20
• The MENA region faces daunting challenges for income and employment creation 21
• The promotion of entrepreneurship and SME development is an important instrument to address the region’s challenges 21
• Making the case for high growth enterprises 25
• The analysis of high-impact firms in the MENA region 29
• Notes 31
• Bibliography 31
• Annex 1.A1. Facts and statistics on the importance of SMEs and entrepreneurship across countries 34
• Chapter 2. Enterprise development and entrepreneurship in the MENA region 36
• Introduction 37
• Concepts and terminology 37
• Enterprise prevalence in different stages of the business life course 40
• Sectors of economic activity in the different stages of the business life course 43
• The prevalence of firms with “high potential” 45
• Key features of MENA entrepreneurs 52
• Summing up observations of key features of enterprises and entrepreneurs in the region 61
• What are the main factors behind business creation? 63
• The role of public policy in fostering enterprise creation 69
• Summary and conclusions 69
• Notes 70
• Bibliography 71
• Chapter 3. High growth new enterprises owned by graduates 72
• Introduction and methodology 73
• Enterprises characteristics 74
• Access to finance 79
• Being competitive 81
• Attitudes to entrepreneurship 82
• How can governments stimulate entrepreneurship? 83
• Summary and conclusions 85
• Notes 87
• Bibliography 87
• Chapter 4. The entrepreneurship and SME policy regime in five MENA countries 88
• Introduction 89
• The role of public policy on SME and entrepreneurship promotion 89
• Policy evidence from OECD countries on high growth enterprises 90
• The policy frameworks in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and the UAE 91
• Careful evaluation is necessary to ensure effectiveness 96
• Policy implications 97
• Entrepreneurship and SME Policy 98
• Micro and macro approaches 101
• Direct assistance or lowering the “burdens” 103
• Notes 104
• Bibliography 104
• Chapter 5. Rationale and policies to promote high growth enterprises 106
• Why focus on young and high impact enterprises in MENA? 107
• What we know about young and high impact enterprises in MENA 108
• Tables 40
• 2.1. Global groups in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 40
• 2.2. Ratios of male/female activity rates in the labour force and in entrepreneurial activity 56
• 2.3. Linear regression model: Nascent ventures and new firms 65
• 2.4. Overview of MENA region factors related to business creation 67
• 3.1. Current employment size of surveyed firms is mostly below 50 workers 74
• 3.2. The most common problems faced by new enterprises at start and at the time of interview (“currently”) are access to finance, competition and corruption 76
• 3.3. New enterprises expand locally in the course of their development 77
• 3.4. Employment distributions 77
• 3.5. There is a large diversity in sources of finance used to start a business and sources used in the last 12 months 80
• 3.6. What makes your enterprise competitive? 82
• 3.7. Business owners’ attitudes to enterprise in their community 82
• 4.1. Ease of doing business 2012: Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and the UAE 91
• 4.2. Regulatory framework: Country commentary 92
• 4.3. ICT Indicators 93
• 4.4. Research and development and technology: Country commentary 94
• 4.5. Access to finance 95
• 4.6. Access to finance: Country commentary 95
• 4.7. A typology of public policy toward small business 103
• Figures 41
• 2.1. Enterprise prevalence in MENA is generally lower than in other emerging economies and is skewed towards nascent and mature firms 41
• 2.2. Enterprise prevalence in North West Africa is similar to that of other emerging economies 42
• 2.3. Firms in business services activities appear to be under-represented in MENA compared to high-income countries 44
• 2.4. Firms employing staff with high technical skills may face hurdles to their survival between the infant and young stages, but mature firms represent a higher proportion than in other country groups 47
• 2.5. The proportion of firms expecting to have an impact in their markets is significantly higher than in all other regions at all stages of the business life course 48
• 2.6. The share of firms which expect growth in employment are similar in MENA to other emerging economy groups 49
• 2.7. The share of firms expecting job growth is significantly higher in Gulf countries than in other MENA economies 50
• 2.8. There is a significant larger share of firms oriented towards tourism and foreign markets in MENA than in other emerging countries 51
• 2.9. Opportunity-driven entrepreneurial activity is higher in MENA than in other emerging economies 53
• 2.10. MENA has fewer women entrepreneurs than other emerging and low-income countries, but within the region there are more women entrepreneurs leading enterprises in the earlier business stages than more established enterprises 55
• 2.11. The share of women leading nascent firms is higher in the North West Africa sub region than in the other MENA sub regions 55
• 2.12. Across all the regional groups, the share of older entrepreneurs is higher in mature firms 60
• 2.13. Entrepreneurs in MENA have a higher level of education attainment than in other emerging economies 61
• 2.14. The low levels of women in employment appear to be a key factor for low enterprise creation 66
• 2.15. There are some key differences in terms of factors behind enterprise creation within the MENA region 68
• 4.1. SME and entrepreneurship development 90
• 4.2. The Impact of an intervention 97