In our first two articles about the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Alexandra, we explored the typical challenges faced by microentrepreneurs and informal entrepreneurs operating in South African townships, before looking at the institutional ecosystem in which these entrepreneurs operate. Our third and final post in this 3-part series will explore the way forward: Can the disconnect…
Our previous post on informal entrepreneurship in Alexandra focused on the typical challenges encountered by mainly informal entrepreneurs and microbusiness owners. This second post will focus on the supporting entrepreneurial ecosystem: Who are the key role players, and what kind of support is available to a typical entrepreneur in Alex? Does this ecosystem provide what…
This is the first article of a 3-part series on informal entrepreneurship in emerging markets, based on empirical research conducted in the township of Alexandra in Johannesburg, South Africa. Elizabeth Mogale* (not her real name), a 48-year old mother of four, grills chickens on the pavement of 12th avenue in Alexandra, one of Johannesburg’s most…
Oded Galor, Herbert Goldberger Professor of Economics at Brown University, joined Elias Papaioannou, Co-Academic Director of the Wheeler Institute and Professor of Economics at London Business School for the fifth event in the Wheeler Institute’s Rethinking Capitalism series. Professor Galor’s latest book ‘The Journey of Humanity’ explores the evolution of human societies since the emergence…
The success of urban policies depends on municipal and state capacity. Government in Africa, especially at the local level, suffers from low fiscal capacity, but there are signs of improvement. We have seen through this series that government policy has a role to play in ensuring that cities develop productively. However, without public funds and…
As part of the Wheeler Institute Climate Initiative, Lucrezia Reichlin, London Business School Professor of Economics and trustee of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation, recently hosted a webinar on “The need for and impact of high quality globally comparable reporting” on 10th March 2022. Lucrezia was joined by Richard Cantor, Chief Risk Officer of Moody’s…
Attention on climate change and efforts to mitigate its impact has increased exponentially from investors and financial markets in the last decade. From a financial perspective, this focus has led to considerable investment towards climate change mitigation initiatives, such that the pressure is now on businesses that are not doing enough. As part of the…
As part of the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development’s Climate Initiative, Lucrezia Reichlin, London Business School Professor of Economics and trustee of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation, recently hosted a webinar on “Building global consensus on how to measure and manage impact” on 21 March 2022. The guest speaker for this webinar…
As part of the Wheeler Institute Climate Initiative, Lucrezia Reichlin, London Business School Professor of Economics and trustee of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation, recently hosted a webinar, the second in the Wheeler Institutes Climate Initiative on “The Impact Revolution – it is going to happen sooner than you think” on 17th March 2022. The…
Through pre-emptive urban planning the government can signal public investment and encourage coordinated private investment in land. How can land and housing policy improve real-estate markets in African cities? Slums are characterised by both low public and private capital investment and are pervasive in urban Africa. Various policy responses are proposed to create urban neighbourhoods…
