African economic paradox: industrialization creating jobs and added value or active participation in global value chains: what solutions to develop for the less advanced and landlocked countries like Burkina Faso?

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (2016) calls for resources for the implementation of the Action Plan for Accelerated Industrial Development in Africa, and states that: “Industrialization is essential for African countries as a means of increasing income, creating jobs, developing value-added activities and diversifying economies”. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the African Development Bank (AFDB), and the Organization for Cooperation and Economics Development (OCED, 2014, p. 16) explain the benefits to African countries’ participation in Global Value Chains (GVC) to industrialize without having to implement all stages of the chain. They add that the acquisition of new production capacities can allow countries and companies to move upmarket, which is to say to increase their share of value added in a GVC. But the opposite is the case, at least in some countries like Burkina Faso. We are witnessing a “specialization of primary products (cotton and non-monetary gold), to the detriment of manufacturing industry with high potential for multiplier effects on local economies” National Plan for Economic and Social Development of Burkina Faso (PNDES, 2017, p.12). Cusolito and al. (2016) mention that overcoming a series of obstacles (such as bad policies and governance, insufficient technology and skills) is the way to actively participate in GVCs. Yet OPEN it is these same obstacles that have always prevented the industrialization of Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa). The results show that the Global Value Chains (GVC) contribute to the creation of added value in developing countries what has an effect on industrializationPostprint (published version

Examining the key success factors in Africa based on 3 aspects: adaptation, efficiency and strategic positioning from a survey on entrepreneurs in Burkina Faso

The main purpose of this paper is to examine the different types of factors in the African business context and in particular in the context of Burkina Faso, that can help companies to be successful. It is about the identification of the key successful factor among some main factors such as adaptation, efficiency and strategic positioning The data is from a survey on entrepreneurs in Burkina Faso, who attended the Africallia business meeting in 2018. The results show that the adaptation to the context is one of the main factors for business success. Thus, the suggestion is that companies should adapt to the African context in order to improve their profit, performance and thus gain a tremendous success.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

EXAMINING THE KEY SUCCESS FACTORS IN AFRICA BASED ON 3 ASPECTS: ADAPTATION, EFFICIENCY AND STRATEGIC POSITIONING FROM A SURVEY ON ENTREPRENEURS IN BURKINA FASO

The main purpose of this paper is to examine the different types of factors in the African business context and in particular in the context of Burkina Faso, that can help companies to be successful. It is about the identification of the key successful factor among some main factors such as adaptation, efficiency and strategic positioning The data is from a survey on entrepreneurs in Burkina Faso, who attended the Africallia business meeting in 2018. The results show that the adaptation to the context is one of the main factors for business success. Thus, the suggestion is that companies should adapt to the African context in order to improve their profit, performance and thus gain a tremendous success. Keywords: Success Factors, Business, Companies, Adaptation, Efficiency, Strategic Positioning, Africa

Innovation policy in Burkina Faso public procurement as a demand-side: the necessity to search for failure sources

In developed countries, public procurement is used to incentivize private companies to invest in innovation. But, governments of developing countries fail to do as much. However, since the size of the market in these countries is small, obtaining and carrying out large public contracts are opportunities that private companies must seize in order to innovate. This contribution analyzes the effect of public procurement on the incentive of private companies to innovate. We use primary data collected from private companies participating in large public tenders in Burkina Faso. The results obtained from probit model with instrumental variables (IV probit) show that public procurement effectively exerts positive externalities on the incentive of private companies to innovate. However, to further increase the influence of public procurement on the private companies’ incentive to innovate, the government needs to ensure that the procurement process is free from imperfections such as corruption and information asymmetries that may limit their efficiency in this area.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

SOCIAL CLASS, CONSUMPTION AND CONFLICTS: A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ON CONSUMERS IN A WEST AFRICAN CHRISTIAN CONTEXT

The relationships between alcohol consumption and conflicts has been explored in several contexts. Little research has been conducted on the subject in Burkina Faso. The purpose of this research is to deeply investigate the relationship between social class and alcohol consumption on one hand, and alcohol consumption and household conflicts on the other in Burkina Faso where alcohol consumption is on the increase. This exploratory research is focused on the constructivist epistemological posture. A qualitative method research design is used to collect data from both primary and secondary sources for analysis. Semi-structured interview guide was used for data collection. The results show that social class moderates the relationship between alcohol consumption and conflicts, and a high relationship between alcohol consumption and household conflicts. The findings imply that there should be a rigorous segmentation and religious hyper-personalisation of the alcohol beverage market in order to meet the local Christian consumers’ core needs and real expectations.   To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is an exploratory research in the West African Christianity context that shows the relationship between different social classes and alcohol consumption and conflicts.  Keywords: Social class, Alcohol Consumption, Household Conflicts, Ouagadougo

ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION AND YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT CHALLENGES IN AFRICA: GHANA IN PERSPECTIVE

Entrepreneurship education has the mandate to equip the youth with functional knowledge and skills to build up their character, attitude and vision.  It has vital role in developing eco-system that promotes innovation and solving unemployment challenges of nations.  Government of Ghana has initiated direct job creation interventions to address youth unemployment challenges. Examples include: Skill Training and Employment Placement (STEP) Programme (2002-2004), National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), now Youth Employment Agency (YEA) in 2006, Youth Enterprise Support (YES), now National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan (NEIP) in 2014, and the recent Nation Builders Corps. Despite the above efforts, unemployment rates in Ghana instead of reducing, increased from 2.15% in 2015, 2.26% in 2016 to 2.36% in 2017; whilst youth unemployment rate increased from 4.51% in 2015, 4.72% in 2016 to 4.9% in 2017. Therefore, this study attempts to conceptualize the relevance of entrepreneurial education to solving the youth unemployment challenges in Ghana. The study concluded that entrepreneurial education has the potentials of solving youth unemployment challenges in the society.  Keywords: Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship Education, Unemployment

RECRUITMENT METHODS AND PERFORMANCE: AN EVIDENCE FROM BUSINESSES IN BURKINA FASO

Starting from the premise that human resources are a critical success factor for companies, this article analyses the logic of recruitment preferences in Burkina Faso. The explanatory variables are the industrial sector and the level of billing. The main findings are that the more traditional forms of recruitment of personnel are dominant in Burkina Faso, in particular in agribusiness and commerce, and in the small business segments. In addition, the results put in light that the most modern forms are preferred in the Construction sector or in large companies. It is found that, a greater technical complexity of the job leads to a greater need to imitate the criteria of the developed world, and that a lower technical complexity implies a greater importance of the worker's morality.Keywords: Recruitment, African Traditional Methods, Modern Methods, Companies, Competitivity, Burkina Faso