ABSTRACT
The economic performance of successful latecomers such as the South East Asian economies in part rests on their efficient, high-quality technology institutions, highly skilled engineers, and professionally managed enterprises. While the development of small and medium firms remains central to the economic development of African countries, they have not fulfilled their expected mandate due to a number of well known structural constraints. Africa is far from having uniform initial conditions and varies widely in economic and political governance systems. African industry is presently made up largely of micro-enterprises and small and medium enterprises, and clusters, a sector that conventional analysis does not credit with significant technical change and inventive activities. In some African countries without a well-developed factory system, the micro and small enterprises contribute as much as 90 per cent of goods and services produced in the economy. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
