Research has shown that education and training opportunities play a key role in cultivating future entrepreneurs and developing current entrepreneurs. One primary way Africa can harness the power of entrepreneurship to create jobs is by focusing on delivering entrepreneurship education to youth entrepreneurs and micro and small business owners. African entrepreneurs face many problems, including financing and a poor business environment. Although the World Bank has discontinued its Doing Business Report, the report looked at areas that made it difficult to start or operate a business in countries worldwide.

This report showed many African countries performed poorly based on their poor rankings regarding an enabling business environment. A part of entrepreneurship education inefficiency in African countries stems from the poor business environment and the substandard level of formal education present on the continent.

Despite all the difficulties and obstacles, both formal and informal entrepreneurs contribute a lot to the total national income in Africa, and they can add to economic growth if they are thriving. A great way to improve entrepreneurs’ performance and experience is by providing business training to develop their entrepreneurship skills. Entrepreneurship skills encompass various areas, including communication skills, problem-solving, creative thinking, and management. With the help of business education, entrepreneurs can find it easier to manage and run their businesses and adapt to any changes in the business environment.

Role Of Entrepreneurship Education in MSMEs Development

Exposure to teachings fostering business and creative skills will go a long way in improving the productivity of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Entrepreneurship education will instill essential knowledge that a ‘necessity entrepreneur’ might not be equipped with. Education can teach business mannerisms associated with successful entrepreneurship like – innovation, risk-taking, persistence, and future thinking. Business training sessions can also enhance how entrepreneurs use their knowledge, skills, and attitude to create jobs and contribute to poverty reduction. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) performance impacts Africa’s overall economic growth and development because they are the backbone of the economy. It is where a majority of the informal sector operates. Empowering MSMEs through entrepreneurial education can eventually positively impact African economies. 

Promote entrepreneurship education in the African micro and small business industry by establishing education centers or hubs with entrepreneurship-related lessons. Additionally, offering courses on “how to be a successful entrepreneur” in secondary, tertiary, and vocational institutions will be effective with unique case studies on successful African small businesses. Furthermore, institutions should collaborate with successful graduates and reputable business specialists to organize special discussion sessions that significantly improve business education amongst young students and other stakeholders.

Moreover, these centers and hubs should be practical and allow students to convert unique business ideas into tangible materials with implemented strategies. The African entrepreneur industry will witness gradual changes with well-structured business centers where young entrepreneurs can practice managerial skills. Additionally, the continent will start to see a competitive business environment slowly emerging and indirectly widening the performance and development of MSMEs.

Important Factors That Will Help Enhance Entrepreneurship Education.

For Entrepreneurship education to effectively improve entrepreneurs’ and small business owners’ skills, African governments should consider and refine some significant factors. We explain some of these factors below:

• Provision Of Adequate Learning Equipment

Using business skills training as a tool to improve the competitiveness of MSMEs, African governments must ensure the provision of adequate learning equipment and facilities. In most African countries, defective and obsolete learning materials are usually used in institutions, negatively impacting the overall learning process. For entrepreneurship education to work efficiently, the governments must provide new technology and up-to-date learning materials and facilities.

• Setting Up Educational Centres in Rural Areas

Hubs and support centers are mostly situated in urban areas. Setting up skills centers in rural areas will help entrepreneurs, including farmers and agric-preneurs, access training and other relevant materials. While the urban population is increasing, the rural areas still have a large concentration of youths and women who could benefit from skills education. Location and distance can keep entrepreneurs from accessing business hubs in their communities. Bringing more entrepreneurs in the rural areas closer to entrepreneurship education through accessible hubs could improve their skills.

• Increased Awareness

Another crucial factor that can positively affect entrepreneurship education is raising awareness about available skills training and its importance. Many people, mainly in the rural areas, do not know about the benefits of developing their business skills. Remember, a large percentage of ‘necessity’ entrepreneurs and small-scale farmers are in business for survival, not their acquired training skills. Raising constant awareness of the need for personal development through skills acquisition can help change the perspective of entrepreneurship. 

Additionally, governments should ensure that practical entrepreneurship training courses are included in elementary, secondary, and tertiary education levels. By doing this, young people will be able to grasp the benefits of entrepreneurship to national development.

• Curriculum Development

Courses offered in entrepreneurship education centers need to be reformed and updated. The world is constantly evolving, and there are changes in virtually all facets of life. The curriculum should be tailored to the local environment while considering the global environment. The method of performing business activities and global entrepreneurship projects is always changing. African institutions offering business education need to note this. African governments should ensure that every business and training curriculum should include contemporary entrepreneurship courses. Incorporating current practices with technology at the center will enable students to keep up with the recent entrepreneur administration and create modern business strategies.

• Ensuring Competent Staff in Schools, Hubs & Centers

Teachers are the key to entrepreneurship learning. Education plans will not have any impact without effective educators to develop the necessary enthusiasm and understanding among students. Highly experienced tutors should teach entrepreneurship skills and business education in African institutions. Teachers’ training is essential so that schools and hubs provide the best lessons and experiences. Entrepreneurship educators should consider attending seminars, conferences, and workshops frequently to improve their own skills. African Governments should offer excellent remuneration packages as a sense of encouragement to boost teachers’ willingness.

• Appropriate And Adequate Funding for Entrepreneurship Training Projects

Adequate funding is another major factor that African governments need to provide. Most schemes that offer entrepreneurship training are not usually well-funded or get lost in corruption. Special business training centers should be well-funded and equipped in rural and urban areas. Top entrepreneur products and ideas will begin to manifest by infusing funds into entrepreneurship educational projects.

Conclusion

Entrepreneurship skills training is a continuous but vital part of African MSMEs’ success. Skills training can significantly impact Africa’s economic development by strengthening its small businesses. African governments and stakeholders should invest in improved business training to support MSMEs. Suppose governments in Africa provide an enhanced state of training and other needed support for small business owners and youth entrepreneurs; it will create a positive change that would lead to community development and economic growth. Empowered MSMEs can also inadvertently contribute to solving many of the social ills the world is currently tackling, including alleviating poverty. Of course, skills training is not the only need of African MSMEs, and training alone will not ensure success, but it will help. 

There are certain factors that African governments have to consider to provide entrepreneurship education for MSMEs development. These factors include a) providing up-to-date curriculum and equipment, b) setting up educational centers in rural areas, and c) adequate funding of entrepreneurship schemes. The skills training investment into small businesses in Africa is worth the cost. In Nigeria, for example, MSMEs contribute 48% of the national GDP and account for 96% of businesses and 84% of employment. If entrepreneurship skills training, in addition to other support like access to finance and markets, can be further intensified and reinforced on the continent, there will be an improvement in Africa’s overall economic stance.