Informal economy, Africa, black entrepreneurship, Nigeria
The study presents considerations for African countries that build off of Crump, Hill, and Taylor (2017). In that study, Crump et al. (2017) argue and present empirical evidence to support the notion that rates of black entrepreneurship (measured by black business ownership) in the U.S. currently presented in entrepreneurship literature are misleading and understated. Once formal and informal economy are considered together, the authors propose that entrepreneurship rates of blacks drastically increase, and likely surpass many other groups. This exploratory study similarly argues and presents evidence that actual rates of business ownership and entrepreneurship derived from formal economy activities in Africa likewise understate the actual rates of entrepreneurship and business ownership there. This study also shows that there are many more advantages to operating in the formal economy than there are to be operating in the informal economy. A tool is provided that can aid entrepreneurship educators to highlight some hidden advantages and disadvantages to people choosing to operate in either economy.
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