Journal of Business and Enterprise Development (JOBED)

Legal Pathways to Inclusive Enterprise: Examining Gender Protection and Empowerment in Ghana’s Affirmative Action Framework

Joyce De-Graft Acquah — 2026-01-03

This paper examines Ghana’s Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024 (Act 1121), a landmark legal and policy intervention designed to address persistent gender inequalities in governance, entrepreneurship, and social protection. While affirmative action has historically been a central tool for advancing women’s rights in Ghana—evolving across three distinct generations from the 1960s to the 2020s—the passage of the Act represents the most comprehensive legislative attempt to institutionalise gender equality. Drawing on feminist legal theory, which interrogates the ways laws reproduce gendered power hierarchies, and social protection theory that emphasises redistributive justice and gender-responsive policy, the study interrogates the Act’s transformative potential and limitations. Methodologically, the research employs qualitative thematic analysis of the Act’s key provisions; Sections 3, 17, 24, and Schedule 4, and in-depth interviews with fifteen participants, including gender advocates, students, senior and junior staff of the University of Cape Coast, and a legal practitioner. Findings highlight the Act’s strengths, such as mandating public and private institutions to implement gender equality policies, incentivising compliance through tax relief and procurement preferences, embedding protections for informal sector workers, and establishing monitoring and grievance redress mechanisms. The study also identifies significant implementation challenges, as participants emphasised limited public awareness, cultural barriers restricting women’s opportunities, insufficient financial resources, and weak enforcement mechanisms. Comparative literature suggests risks of elite capture, bureaucratic delays, and urban bias, which could undermine it’s effectiveness. While the Act represents a crucial policy milestone, its success depends on sustained political will, adequate resource allocation, community-level awareness campaigns, and strong institutional enforcement.

Revisiting and Harnessing the Transformative Power of Social Entrepreneurship in University Education for Sustainable Green and Blue Economy

Oyebode Stephen Oyetoro — 2025-12-31

This study explores the integration of Social Entrepreneurship Education (SEE) within African university curricula, with reference to Nigeria, as a means of preparing socially responsible change agents for sustainable development in the green and blue economy. It aims to: identify the policies (macro) that support SEE; examine the programmes (meso) implemented within selected degree curricula; and evaluate the suitability of tools and methods (micro) adopted by universities to deliver SEE. A qualitative content analysis of policy and institutional documents (including the National Policy on Education, National Development Plan 2021–2025 and the Study Handbook for the bachelor’s degree in Entrepreneurship of a federal university) was conducted using a set of six descriptors developed through an international iterative collaborative framework. Findings indicate critical gaps in existing SEE structures, particularly weak policy alignment, limited contextualization to local green and blue economy opportunities, and inadequate interdisciplinary integration as a key requirement for effective implementation. The study recommends the need for mission-driven SEE policies, territorial learning ecosystems, and the adoption of culturally grounded as well as context-responsive teaching strategies. Embedding SEE more deliberately into higher education in Nigeria could strengthen their contribution to sustainable economic and social transformation.

Inclusive Circularity: Empowering Local Communities Through Waste-Based Eco-Enterprises in Kano State, Nigeria

Muhammad Umar — 2025-12-31

The shift toward a circular economy (CE) offers a significant opportunity to enhance environmental sustainability (ES) while promoting inclusive socioeconomic development (IED). This study investigates the role of waste-based eco-enterprises (WBEEs) as catalysts for environmental transformation (ET) and community development (CD) in Kano, Nigeria, one of West Africa’s largest and most industrialised urban centres. Employing the Inclusive Circularity (IC) framework, it examines how local entrepreneurs and informal waste workers engage in circular business models (CBMs) that transform waste into value-added products (VAPs). Using a qualitative methodology that combines case studies of three successful eco-enterprises with documentary analysis, the study identifies key enablers, challenges, and social impacts, emphasising the contributions of youth, women, and informal actors. It also assesses policy and financing barriers that limit sectoral growth. The findings suggest that with targeted interventions, such as regulatory recognition, capacity-building, and enhanced market access, WBEEs can effectively address urban waste challenges, reduce poverty, and drive grassroots innovation. The paper concludes by proposing a framework for scaling inclusive CE models in similar urban contexts.

Key Drivers for Strategic Organizational Survival in Nigeria: Case of Quantity Surveying Consultancy Firms

Dorcas Titilayo Moyanga — 2025-12-31

The implementation of survival strategy is challenging because of the complexity of making strategic decisions that would ensure the continuous existence of the organization. For quantity surveying firms, several strategies have been suggested to survive challenging and turbulent economic environment. However, these firms are yet to gain insight into the factors that can influence or drive the implementation of appropriate survival strategies. Hence, the need for the study to examine the drivers to implementing survival strategy in quantity surveying firms in Nigeria. The study adopted the survey research approach and through the questionnaire, One Hundred and Thirty (130) quantity surveying firms were purposively selected in South-west, Nigeria. The 99 responses received from the principal partner or senior management personnel of these firms were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. From the result, it was revealed that the decision to implement survival strategies in quantity surveying firms is based on the desire of the firm to improve performance, operational efficiency, anticipating changes in firm, innovativeness, technical edge and so on. Additionally, the study categorized the drivers into five distinct factors driving the implementation of survival strategy thereby indicating that quantity surveying firms must focus on both internal and external driving forces. The prioritized drivers are strategic leadership and market intelligence, innovation and competitive edge, policy alignment and performance, cost discipline and project security and growth and competitive positioning. The study concluded that the implementation of survival strategies in quantity surveying firms would be successful when factors that can drive its implementation are carefully considered. Hence, this study suggests that the partners or top management of quantity surveying firms in Nigeria and worldwide should organize summit to deliberate on the pros and cons of implementing strategies as well as the driving force for each strategy.

The Challenges of University Knowledge and Technology Transfer on Entrepreneurial and Industrial Innovation - A Case Study of the University of Rwanda

Bosede Adesuwa Osayande — 2025-12-31

This study aims at investigating the challenges of Knowledge and Technology Transfer (KTT) in support of entrepreneurial and industrial innovation in Rwanda, particularly the University of Rwanda. The Triple Helix Model, which emphasizes university-industry-government collaboration, and the Technology Transfer Process Model are frameworks used to examine the challenges and opportunities associated with knowledge and technology diffusion and commercialization. A quantitative methodology approach (quantitative surveys) was developed to research what works best from a knowledge-translation point KTT mechanism. The results indicate that though some strides have been made, KTT in Rwanda remains demarcated and, above all, deficient in terms of industrial engagement, institutional support, research funding, and scattered application of the policies. The absence of defined collaborative mechanisms has led to poor commercialization and thus weakened the effect of academic research on development in the economy. This study advocates an AI-driven, KTT framework that is policy-wise consistent and features well-structured university-industry partnerships through AI-powered research matchmaking; digital Intellectual property (IP) management and an improved governmental incentive to fill these gaps. According to the recommendations, the establishment of a National Knowledge Transfer Office (NKTO) will be helpful to enhance commercialization grants, industry-academia training programs, and stronger IP protection policies. Therefore, the modification of the knowledge transfer ecosystem towards a more interactive one is to stimulate the rapid commercialization of research and the enhancement of entrepreneurship, as well as giving Rwanda share to innovation-led economic growth.

Enhancing Higher Education Students' Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies: An Actionable Process

Mohammed Khalil — 2025-12-31

In principle, emerging countries such as many in Africa offer great opportunities for innovation, growth, and entrepreneurship to serve the growing middle class both locally and in neighbouring countries. Unfortunately, few young graduates from Higher Education Institutions (HEI) engage in entrepreneurship, even many may remain unemployed at the start of their careers or take jobs for which they are overqualified. Preparing the young generation of HEI graduates and encouraging them to choose entrepreneurship as a career option is key to sustaining economic growth and raising qualified job opportunities. This may require a paradigm shift in higher education to go beyond the development of technical and managerial competencies of students, train them in entrepreneurship, and connect them to entrepreneurs, resources, and business ecosystems. This paper aims to contribute to answering the question: What should HEIs' educational and support conditions be to enhance students' engagement in entrepreneurship and have entrepreneurship as an institutionalized career path? This paper provides a conceptual design of a three-stage entrepreneurship development process, namely intention development, opportunity recognition, and opportunity transformation and and related 5S activities, namely, Starting the process, Sensing, Selecting, Shaping, and Seizing entrepreneurial opportunities, to help students progress successfully through the process. The Design Science Research (DSR) paradigm, based on the concept of ‘knowing through making’, is used for the development of the process and the related 5S activities, and for the pragmatic validity of the process. The paper illustrates the relevance of the proposed process by using the Academy of Traditional Arts (ATA) in Casablanca as a case study and draws first conclusions on the process and its practice. For the rigor phase of the DSR paradigm and to further validate the findings, more applied research is needed, both for the review of the proposed design and the evaluation of the impact of the process and the related 5S activities on the rate of generation of graduate entrepreneurs. This will also be done to ensure the adoption and replicability of the process in different contexts.

Inclusive Innovation for Urban Justice: A Framework for Participatory Social Entrepreneurship

Ali Mobini Dehkordi — 2025-12-31

In the recent two decades, Cities face challenges of inequality, exclusion, and uneven development. As an answer to this, an urgent need to rethink how innovation and entrepreneurship can advance justice and inclusion emerged. This paper examines the role of inclusive innovation in shaping socially grounded forms of urban entrepreneurship that could respond to these pressing issues. We did a systematic literature review and conceptual synthesis, and we explored the emerging intersections between inclusive innovation and urban social entrepreneurship. So, from this analysis, we introduce the Urban Inclusive Social Entrepreneurship UISE Framework, which integrates four interrelated layers: Foundational Infrastructure, Social Drivers and Stakeholders, Participatory Processes, and Inclusive Outcomes. We, in the UISE framework, focus on collaboration among local governments, universities, civil society organizations, and communities. Conceptually, we reframe inclusive innovation as a structural and ethical foundation for urban transformation. Practically, we provide policymakers, urban planners, and local entrepreneurs with a roadmap for fostering more just and inclusive cities through participatory and collaborative approaches.