Globalisation and entrepreneurship in developing countries of sub-Saharan Africa: Mauritius: an agenda for study

Abstract

Mauritius has been variously described to the world as the ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’ and the ‘African Tiger’ due to its uniqueness as an island economy. These recognitions point not only to its reputed and sustained natural beauty, but also to its remarkable economic performance for the last three decades. Altogether, the country has performed a remarkable balancing act in preserving its natural assets and implementing a rigorous industrialisation process to meet the demands of globalisation. This has made Mauritius an ‘outlier’ (Wignaraja, 2002) amongst the sub-Saharan African economies. Nevertheless, these very economies have given much admiration and study to the ingenuity of Mauritian firms in managing globalisation. Thus, taking a firm-level perspective, this paper aims to question the extent to which ongoing globalisation has benefited or inspired entrepreneurialism in the Mauritian economy. This paper is a work in progress. It examines a conceptual framework that aims to take a holistic examination of the impact and influence of spillovers from multinational activities on local entrepreneurship and SME development. The framework considers four constructs that are argued to influence entrepreneurial dynamism in a developing country context. Analyses of the relationships between these constructs are expected to provide insights into the working and management of entrepreneurship in a developing economy like Mauritius. The paper ends with thoughts on policy and managerial implications