Indigenous knowledge promotion as a strategic pathway to sustainable structural transformation financing in Africa: lessons for the Middle East and North African economies

Abstract

The quest for structural transformation has been a crucial challenge in Africa in spite of the huge amounts of aid disbursed, investments undertaken, policies implemented, etc. Notwithstanding several important reasons highlighted in the literature, they are insufficient because they focus on the role of financial resources but neglect non-financial issues and resources that are required to guarantee efficient mobilisation, utilisation and prudent management of public resources. Consequently, this paper examines these non-financial issues and resources through a systematic review of the relevant literature and analysis of their contents. The major finding was that most policy efforts at structurally transforming finance in Africa achieved little success because they were not rooted in the continent's cultures and traditions, which should be employed to enhance sound financial management and control systems.