Historically and contextually, various integration models were experimented with by colonial powers, but these systems largely collapsed post-independence. For instance, the French attempted to maintain cohesion but prioritized their own interests, leading to fragmentation. Efforts in East and West Africa similarly faltered, as each nation pursued its own agenda without a unified political will. South Africa made a notable attempt, but integration never materialized; it would have required a different approach, such as the adoption of a SADC currency. The recent endeavors of AES countries and Zimbabwe’s new currency inject fresh dynamics into this ecosystem. Concurrently, the rise of new technologies presents both challenges and opportunities for financial integration. Public organizations and pan-African institutions play crucial roles in navigating this journey, where the political dimension holds significant sway. Additionally, international dynamics, exemplified by initiatives like those of the BRICs, further influence the landscape. Taken together, these elements paint an intriguing picture, fostering discussions on the African ecosystem and brainstorming plausible solutions. The ultimate aim is to achieve, within a reasonable timeframe, a monetary union and a common African currency.

Financial services are an essential element in powering entrepreneurial activity beyond resource extraction in Africa. This book examines the macro-trends and highlights inspiring success stories of entrepreneurial financial sector ventures that are making a lasting contribution to the economic development of various sub-Saharan African countries.

Based on a systematic literature review using scientific database search engines and an opportunistic review of published and unpublished government, international and nongovernmental organization reports on cocoa from the internet, the paper explores sustainable irrigation financing feasibility and the potential for different cocoa systems. We design a conceptual framework and propose a sustainable financing ecosystem for supplemental irrigated cocoa farming in Ghana and a qualitative data collection tool based on the conceptual framework and insights from the literature review.

Blockchain, metaverse, and digital payment technologies, collectively called digital ecosystem, have received much attention from academia, regulators, and industry alike. However, their usage across various sub-sectors of the economy and industry is slow, and deployment is still largely experimental. Due to its secure nature, many industrial players including banking and payment firms are looking for ways on using blockchain to develop consumer confidence and trust in the digital payments for wider adoptability and use. This book provides an in-depth and relevant overview of the main theories, frameworks, technologies and innovations, institutional structures or regulations (GDPR, PSD2), and empirical research that investigates users’ perspectives on blockchain technologies, metaverse, and digital payments. With chapters from international contributors, the book presents historical and contemporary developments, innovations, laws and legislation, research, and analysis using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method approaches to the adoption and continuous usage of these technologies and platforms. This timely collection offers valuable insights and empirical findings for bank executives, regulators, payment associations (VISA, MasterCard, etc.), policymakers, FinTech, BigTech, and start-up leaders who express interest in blockchain, metaverse, digital payments, as well as academia and researchers in the fields of business management, digital economy, digital technologies, and digital marketing.

This edited volume provides a critical evaluation of financing options for sustainable development in Africa. While sustainability has long been the watchword for development programs, and while many African countries have taken initiatives to develop integrated frameworks that tackle developmental challenges—including poverty, education, and health—financing has remained a challenge. In this book, an expert team of chapter authors examines new financing options while also exploring how traditional financing means, such as foreign aid and foreign direct investment, can be more effective for sustainability. The authors discuss how African nations can build adequate structures and productive capacity to create a platform that can meet present economic, social, and environmental needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Practical case studies and scientific evidence give this book a unique approach that is both qualitative and quantitative. This book will be of interest to students, practitioners, and scholars of development studies, public policy and African economics.

This contributed volume explores and reveals the dynamics, strengths and weaknesses, trends and implications of entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Presenting papers by respected experts in the field, it shares essential insights on the status quo of entrepreneurship and the opportunities and threats it faces in the MENA region. Topics range from development of entrepreneurial universities to international entrepreneurship, as well as emergent topics such as green entrepreneurship, sustainable entrepreneurship and youth entrepreneurship.

Long term asset owners and managers, while seeking high risk-adjusted returns and efficiently allocating scarce financial capital to the highest value economic activities, have the essential and formidable role of ensuring the sustainability of return. But generally accepted financial accounting methods are ill-equipped to provide clear signals of the risks and opportunities created by scarce natural and human capital. Hence many investment managers in global financial markets, while performing due diligence on portfolio companies, examine metrics of non-financial performance, especially environmental, social and governance (ESG) indicators. Broken into three sections, this book outlines the rationale for and methods used in six areas where financial acumen has been harnessed to the goal of combining monetary return with long run sustainability. The first section offers an introduction to the role of finance in achieving sustainability, and includes an overview of the six areas—sustainable investing, impact investing, decentralized finance, conservation finance, and cleantech finance. The methods section of the book illustrates analytical tools and specialized data sources essential to those interested in increasing the level of social responsibility embedded in economic activity. The applications section describes and differentiates each of the six areas and their roles in advancing specific measures of sustainability.

The book reflects on the role of the creative economies in a range of African countries (namely Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda). Chapters explore how creative economies emerge and can be supported in African countries. The contributors focus on two key dimensions: the role of higher education and the role of policy. Firstly, they consider the role of higher education and alternative forms of specialised education to reflect on how the creative aspirations of students (and future creative workers) of these countries are met and developed. Secondly, they explore the role of policy in supporting the agendas of the creative economy, taking also into consideration the potential historical dimension of policy interventions and the impact of a lack of policy frameworks. The book concludes by reflecting on how these two pillars of creative economy development, which are usually taken for granted in studying creative economies in the global north, need to be understood with their own specificity in the context of our selected case studies in Africa. This book will be of interest to students, scholars and professionals researching the creative economies in Africa across the humanities and social sciences. All the royalties from the publication of this book will be donated to the not-for-profit organisation The Craft and Design Institute (CDI) (https://www.thecdi.org.za/) in South Africa, supporting capacity building for young creative practitioners from disadvantaged backgrounds.

This book addresses empirical, theoretical, and policy perspectives in its examination of the development of sustainability management of African firms. Documenting cases of sustainable activities across Africa and accelerating knowledge about the opportunities and challenges facing firms operating in Africa, the chapters examine various aspects of sustainability and sustainable entrepreneurship/innovations in the African context. The authors seek to shed light on how African nations can be positioned to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals as well as the innovative strategies necessary to improve sustainability practices of African firms for greater success. With guidance for scholars and policymakers, this book will serve as a valuable resource, providing readers with an up-to-date and contextual understanding of sustainability practices, drivers, and challenges in Africa. Samuel Adomako is Associate Professor of Strategy at the Birmingham Business School at the University of Birmingham, UK. Albert Danso is Associate Professor of Accounting and Finance at the Leicester Castle Business School at De Montfort University, UK. Agyenim Boateng is Professor of Finance and Director of Finance and Banking Research Centre at the Leicester Castle Business School at De Montfort University, UK.

Transforming Africa: How Savings Groups Foster Financial Inclusion, Resilience and Economic Development presents in-depth empirical research into current day savings group activities across Africa, exploring savings groups through the lens of financial inclusion and reflecting on formal finance, economic and social outcomes.