Want to support enterprise development in developing countries? Think about the other salient factors. An investigation of Zimbabwe and Pacific Island countries

Abstract

Donor organisations and governments of the world, including those of developing countries have initiated programs and policies to promote entrepreneurship. Unfortunately, this has not yielded the desired results in developing countries. Some reasons for this failure have been due to a lack of understanding of environments and issues prevailing in these countries that affect entrepreneurial outcomes. These issues need to be addressed, yet they are not obvious, and they also take long to address. This paper highlights issues such as employing relatives and family members, tall-poppy syndrome, risk avoidance, not accepting entrepreneurship as an alternative to paid employment, bad-debt culture and the pressure to look after the needs of a family. Promoting entrepreneurship successfully is dependent on how effective the above factors have been identified and addressed.