Dynamics of Contextualization Within Social Entrepreneurship Training in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Social entrepreneurship is seen as a vehicle to drive development and mitigate social problems. In sub-Saharan Africa, support and training centers have emerged, often funded by government and development agencies, in order to assist social entrepreneurship ventures. However, it is unclear whether these programs are sufficiently adapted to the local context to provide appropriate support. This paper explores contextualization of social entrepreneurship training programs in three countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Through content analysis, surveys, and interviews with training centers in Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa, we investigate how these programs equip entrepreneurs to tackle local social problems. We find that their methods, approach, and content clearly illustrate contextualization in response to socio-economic and entrepreneurial ecosystem dynamics. Resource scarcity and social embeddedness theories help explain our findings. We conclude that the primary drivers of contextualization in these programs in these countries are similar: differences in actors, resources, and bottom lines. By explaining how contextualization manifests itself and how it occurs in these developing countries, our findings can improve the implementation of such programs and help overcome the barriers that context can create.