Postgraduate Dissertation


The Factors Influencing Small Scale Farmers’ Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Skills and Entrepreneurial Spirits/Mind-set for Improving their Living Standard: Case Study Project in Malawi

Abstract

Recent stream of globalization would bring crucial role for entrepreneurs in the world. In developing countries, entrepreneurs are also expected to be the engine for boosting up the economic growth as well as the poverty reduction especially in African countries. However the entrepreneurship related to agriculture does not have consolidated definitions due to scarce in the theoretical paradigm as well as practical management. Malawi is known as one of the poorest countries located in sub-Saharan Africa and agriculture is the most important source of earning foreign exchange yet the agriculture in Malawi is still fragile despite the fact the Government of Malawi put much efforts for improving the situation collaborating with donors. Therefore in this paper by identifying the required entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial skills as well as entrepreneurial spirits/mind-set of farmers, it would be helpful to improve their situation with analysis of external factors. The research uses secondary and qualitative data from the case in Malawi project only to answer the research question from the interpretivism approach.To do so, firstly to make an summarization by reviewing past literatures regarding entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial skills related to agriculture, secondly by analysing the one project called ‘The Project for Famers’ Self-reliance towards Community Empowerment in Mzimba’, held by Japan Overseas Cooperative Association with the context embedded in farmers both internal (mind-set, behaviour, experience, actions, circumstances (education/training) and knowledge) and external (socio-economic, political, environment as well as culture), to find out the entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial skills and entrepreneurial spirits, thirdly stimulate those outcomes.Regarding the entrepreneurial skills which identified in Malawi are as follows; professional, management, strategic, co-operative/networking and opportunity skills. The process of development of those entrepreneurial skills is differing from the famers in developed country from the literature review. The influence of external factors by PEST analysis demonstrate the all the factors are remarkably linked together and decrease the productivity due to over depending on agriculture as well as fund from donors. Thus to minimize the risk from uncertainty, the farmers are required to further improvement of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial skills and entrepreneurial mind-set.


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Authors

Sakatani, Naomi

Oxford Brookes departments

Business

Degree programme

MSc Business Management

Year

2014


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