Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to supplement the literature on the effect of female entrepreneurship on economic growth by bringing new evidence for the case of SMEs owned by women in Cameroon. Design/methodology/approach – Effects of female entrepreneurship on Cameroonian economic growth are analyzed through a simple statistical analysis. Findings – Our results reveal that there is a growing female entrepreneurship in Cameroon, localized in many different sectors of activity. Moreover, these SMEs are opportunity entrepreneurship which contributes to economic growth by considerably reducing unemployment particularly for women, generating revenues for government and enhancing human capital skills. Research limitations/implications – The study suggests an investment in SMEs owned by women and an investment in education and skills of those women in order to positively affect economic growth. Originality/value – Many studies have focussed their attention on the relationship between SMEs and economic growth, but few attempted to evaluate the theoretical assumptions in case studies and in a gender perspective.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether there are differences between the determinants of the capital structure in financial and manufacturing firms and also assess how the speed of adjustment differs.Design/methodology/approach– This study employed balanced panels data procedure using pooled ordinary least square, the random effects and fixed effects on manufacturing firms and banks that are listed on Nigeria Stock Exchange. The use of the three estimation method is in order to make a meaningful comparison between the models.Findings– The findings indicate that there are similarities and differences in the capital structure determinants on the two sets of firms: banks tend to be more leveraged when they are more profitable and manufacturing firms tend to be less leveraged when they are profitable. In addition, banks adjust their leverage faster at a speed of 69 per cent than manufacturing firms at 46 per cent. The study also shows that changes in the economy influence the capital structure of financial firms more than that of manufacturing firms.Research limitations/implications– The study only focused on one economy.Practical implications– As a result of 2008 global financial crisis, there has been intense debate on the significance of regulatory capital. The study demonstrate the need for regulatory capital in banks to be procyclical rather than being static.Originality/value– To the best of the knowledge, this is the first paper to empirically test how capital structure differ between banks and non-financial institutions.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider effective leadership in Africa and the African diaspora. This paper reports the results of emic research in Uganda, Barbados, Canada and the USA.Design/methodology/approach – A Delphi technique using open‐ended questions solicited ideas regarding leadership from knowledgeable participants, avoiding researcher bias.Findings – There were differences among the groups on several attributes that made leaders effective. Ugandans suggested a good leader was “honest and trustworthy”; Canadians and respondents from the USA said “being inspirational/charismatic” Barbadians cited “being a visionary”.Research limitations/implications – Having data for only one African country and the small sample sizes from all countries limit the generalizability of the findings. The results do, however, provide a base of knowledge on which to build future studies on Africa and the diaspora.Originality/value – The emic approach overcomes the western bias identified by scholars in mo...

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to estimate the key socio‐economic and demographic factors influencing the utilization of antenatal care services in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThe paper utilizes the most recent Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS V) data. The dependent variable is the intensity of utilization (number) of antenatal care visits. Hence, the negative binomial regression is employed to investigate the socio‐economic and demographic correlates of the intensity of antenatal care utilization in Ghana.FindingsThe study finds that wealth status, age, ownership of health insurance (especially for rural women), educational attainment, birth order, religion and administrative region of residence are significant predictors of the intensity of antenatal care services utilization. In particular, the utilization rate increases in wealth status. The authors also found significant statistical relationship between residence and antenatal care utilization. This finding reinforces the differences in health facilities between the rural and urban areas of Ghana. The authors did not, however, find evidence for proxies for financial and physical access.Research limitations/implicationsThe GDHS survey lacks data on the distance to the nearest health facility where ANC is sought and a variable for the price of ANC visit. Proxies had to be used to capture these variables.Practical implicationsThe fact that ownership of health insurance in rural areas increases the number of ANC visits makes it imperative to intensify health insurance awareness and enrollment campaigns in the rural areas so as to bridge the rural‐urban gap in ANC utilization. Also, while the free maternal health care policy for expecting mothers is laudable, a minimum level of wealth is required to induce antenatal care visitations. This is because household wealth status still plays a major role even in a free maternal health regime.Originality/valueA new finding of the paper is the significant effect that ownership of health insurance has on the utilization of ANC services among rural women. While generally rural women have a lower propensity to use ANC services compared to urban women, the intensity of usage of ANC services tends to increase for rural women who own health insurance.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how managerial interactions with employees affect work output, using Ghanaian organizations as a study.Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a survey method, using questionnaires to collect data from 120 workers from four Ghanaian organizations to form the basis of the study.Findings – It was found that regular interactions between managers and employees have a direct positive effect on employee work output. Results emerging from the analysis show that for organizations to make any significant impact on performance, both managers and their subordinates must have a very good climate of social interactions. The involvement of lower level employees in organizational activities and decision making is of crucial importance to organizational performance.Research limitations/implications – The study is limited to the four organizations of the sample and the number of respondents.Practical implications – The paper's findings call for some behavioural dire...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to operationalise the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) within the framework of Ubuntu in selected Malawian organizations. The intention is to analyze whether CSR can be applied cross-culturally. Design/methodology/approach The paper is a result of a qualitative research study conducted amongst nine sampled Malawian organisations. It utilized a semi-structured interview guide in the collection of data whereby key research questions were exploratory and descriptive in nature. Findings This paper finds that in the cases under study, the concept of CSR is being applied within the framework of Ubuntu rather than a Western-oriented business approach. Research limitations/implications CSR does not operate in a vacuum. Its application depends on the prevailing cultural context. In the cases under study, Ubuntu values influence and facilitate the application of CSR activities. Originality/value Despite the envisaged significance of Ubuntu cultural context to the understanding and applicability of CSR in Africa, there has been no adequate systematic analysis of the same. The paper is therefore filling this knowledge gap.

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to highlight the opportunity that exists within the ambience of peace in the Niger Delta precipitated by the amnesty deal; particularly for the oil-multinationals that operate there, to re-invent the delivery of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to maintain peaceful relations with their hosts and therefore optimize their business potentials. Design/methodology/approach The method is purely a review of extant literatures and deductive arguments that will give insights to how conflict situations arising from denial of rights can be resolved through the CSR and stakeholder's perspective. Findings The paper concludes that the oil-multinationals operating in the Niger Delta region ought to take advantage of the ambience of relative peace which has been created by the amnesty initiative to re-invent their relationship with their host-communities. Practical implications The oil-multinationals must seize the opportunity of a peaceful operating environment precipitated by the amnesty deal to engage with their host-communities more objectively. This move will contribute to a healthy relationship between both parties and contribute to sustainable peace, which is a requisite to the sustainable exploitation of oil resources in the region, sustainable development of the resource, region and country. Originality/value The paper draws upon the hypotheses in extant literature that argue that there is a link between the local expectations of oil-multinationals CSR, its actual delivery and violent conflicts in the Niger Delta region. It however moves the discourse forward by highlighting the window of opportunity that the federal government's amnesty initiative has opened to reassess CSR thinking, strategies and implementation.

PurposeThis study aims to re‐examine the direction of causality between investment and saving in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).Design/methodology/approachThe study is empirical, testing for Granger causality between investment and saving as well as for other pertinent variables in the determination of the two variables of interest. It uses two methods: co‐integration and decomposition of variances on the one hand, and dynamic panel on the other.FindingsThe use of recent developments in the treatment and analysis of time series data and the inclusion of relevant variables omitted in prior studies help to shed more light on the contradictory results that exist so far. The empirical result is a proof that saving is a real constraint on investment in the financially moderate economies of the WAEMU.Practical implicationsThe paper encourages own resource mobilisation for economic growth and development. Ideas generated in the study suggest that financial liberalization per se will not work unless enough flow of domestic savings exists in a country.Originality/valueIt is one of the recent attempts to investigate this issue within a group of African countries operating in an economic and monetary union. The strength of the paper is the use of various econometric methods to address the issue.

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate firm‐level interactions between productivity and exporting in Uganda's manufacturing sector.Design/methodology/approachThe paper empirically tested two hypotheses that relate to the dynamic gains from trade and also have tended to dominate the literature; self‐selection and learning‐by‐exporting hypotheses. It employs proxies of self‐selection and learning‐by‐exporting obtained from indices of path dependence to fit maximum likelihood estimates of export behavior.FindingsThe results provide support for both hypotheses and it is also found that more experienced exporters reap more productivity gains from learning effects which is in line with the view that knowledge spillovers to exporting firms increase with the level of interaction in the global market place. Thus, learning‐by‐exporting is not a “short term” occurrence which takes place only in the first few years of entry in export markets after which it would fizzle out as a firm's exporting experience increases but rather, it is a cumulative process.Practical implicationsThis paper generates a number of insights that can guide policy makers in designing policies to promote firm productivity growth that is an engine of growth in the private sector and by extension, would fuel up overall economic growth and poverty reduction.Originality/valuePrevious studies on exports and growth in Uganda have been basically focused on macro‐data analysis; yet, promoting rapid expansion of manufactured exports may require more than just a good macroeconomic policy environment. This study fills the research gap by relating firm‐level productivity performance to the microeconomic environment in which manufacturing firms operate.

PurposeThe paper aims to investigate the relationship between stock prices and exchange rate movement in seven African countries.Design/methodology/approachIt uses vector autoregressive (VAR) cointegration and impulse response analysis to determine the long‐ and short‐run linkages between stock prices and exchange rates.FindingsCointegration analyses indicate a long‐run relationship between stock prices and the exchange rate in Tunisia, where exchange rate depreciation drives down stock prices. A short‐run error‐correction model also shows similar results. Impulse response analyses for other countries show that stock returns in Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius and Nigeria reduce when induced by exchange rate shocks but increase in Egypt and South Africa. Shocks induced by either stock prices or the exchange rate are more protracted in Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius and Nigeria than in South Africa and Egypt.Originality/valueThis is one of the few studies on Africa which tests for long‐run dynamics and impulse response shock dynamics within a VAR framework. Again unlike other studies it also concentrates on more countries in the sample.