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Internationally, donors are increasing their emphasis on poverty-focused policies and on the notion of pro-poor growth. This publication examines key elements of the debate about small and micro enterprises (SMEs) from the perspective of the current poverty-growth debate and in the specific context of Africa. Contributing authors consider issues such as the effect of the macroeconomic climate on small enterprise development, the effectiveness of enterprises, and policies and programs to support them, and the impact of education on enterprise performance. The introductory chapter 'Enterprise in Africa: new contexts; renewed challenges' is by Simon McGrath and Kenneth King. Part one attempts to situate the subsequent debates about the SME sector in broader contexts of macro-economic prospects, trade patterns, and political disputes. The chapters are: Have Africa's economies turned the corner? / Tony Killick; Developmental states and small enterprises / Thandika Mkandawire; Gender, property rights and trade: constraints to Africa growth / Susan Joekes. Part two examines the overall structure and internal dynamics of the SME sector and the chapters are: MSEs tackle both poverty and growth (but in differing proportions) / Donald C. Mead; Micro-enterprises in West Africa / Jacques Charmes; Small enterprise development in post-apartheid South Africa / Christian M. Rogerson; Inherent gender inequities in small and micro-enterprise development in rural Africa / Fra Von Massow; Enterprise development in Africa: strategies for impact and growth / George Manu. Part three explores linkages, clusters and associations amongst enterprises in the sector and contains the following chapters: Do SMEs network for growth? / Abigail Barr; Enterprise clusters in Africa: linkages for growth and development / Dorothy McCormick; Trading agents and other producer services in African industrialization and globalization / Poul Ove Pedersen; MSE associations and enterprise promotion in Africa / Hans Christiaan Haan. Part four discusses the potential role of education, training and technology in SME development. The chapters are: Technology, NGOs and small enterprises: securing livelihoods through technical change / Andy Jeans; Competences and other factors affecting the small enterprise sector in Ibadan, Nigeria / Susanna Adam; Reshaping vocational training: hopeful signs from a Ghanaian experience / Lawrence A. Honny; The role and potential of technical and vocational education in formal education systems in Africa / Bonaventure Wanjala Kerre; Learning to grow?: the importance of education and training for small and micro-enterprise development / Simon McGrath and Kenneth King.

Education remains a critical issue in African countries with low levels of participation and high rates of illiteracy continuing to pose major challenges for governments in the twenty-first century. As a result of consultation between African leaders and other stakeholders concerned about development priorities in their continent, it has been recommended that technical and vocational education and training (TVET) be given a prominent place in secondary education. This chapter examines and discusses some of the most common approaches to this initiative in selected African countries. The aim is to identify evidence associating vocational and technical education with national development and the promotion of an entrepreneurial culture. Aspects discussed include TVET in national development policy frameworks, the TVET curricula, the role of TVET in industrialisation and human resource development, and achievements in the areas of TVET legislation, policy orientation, financing, links with small and medium-scale enterprises, and individual development.

This chapter re-examines the growth potential of Africa's small-scale economy at the end of the 1990s in light of African economic growth, structural adjustments affecting the small-scale sector and education and training institutions (both formal and informal), and trends in donor policy aimed at poverty eradication and pro-poor growth. National and development cooperation policies have both direct and indirect effects on small and micro-enterprises (SMEs) in the countries of the African continent. The productivity of the African small-scale economy is closely linked with the productivity of the economy as a whole and new trends in the donor community during the 1990s have the potential to increase external support for this sector. Both national and donor policies for the promotion of SMEs are accompanied by concerns about the appropriate role of education and training in SMEs. The authors explore existing policies and programs for small-scale pro-capitalist development and for developing the skills needed to sustain the sector.