ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an analytical framework. It focuses on the empirical data from the three African countries, paying specific attention to finance and technology support. The data are taken from two sets of studies carried out at the firm level in a number of African countries in the year 2001, namely, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and Zimbabwe. The two sources of financial support may be considered 'collective'. They include: government supported venture captured companies that finance technology based Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and credit guarantee facilities. The chapter indicates that over 60 per cent of Ugandan SMEs receive some kind of support from numerous financial agencies nationwide. The policy response to the internal resource scarcity of SMEs and competitive pressures has been for states and the private sector to attempt to develop institutions and services to promote production within small firms.
