University Partnerships to Promote Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Start-Ups: Lessons from an International Survey of Case Studies

Abstract

Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) promotion is a viable strategy to facilitate sustainable growth and development in developing countries. In this connection, university partnerships have been playing an increasingly important role in SME promotion, for instance by supporting business start-ups in both developed and developing countries. Concrete interventions have been in the forms of entrepreneurship education and training, and University-based incubators. Through knowledge sharing, the partnerships have increased the knowledge base of participating universities, thereby enabling them to execute their SME promotion agenda more efficiently. This paper revisits the experience of selected university partnerships, in order to identify lessons that can be emulated by existing and planned partnerships to promote SME start-ups in Sub-Saharan African countries