 In Africa, there are pockets of vitalities, especially demonstrated in the form of enterprise clusters, scattered in various countries and industries. These clusters enable enterprises to overcome many “binding constraints” in the areas of capital, skills, technology, market, etc, to grow and compete through more effective knowledge/technology diffusion, product specialization, leveraging local comparative advantage, fostering production value chains, and achieving collective efficiency.
How were these clusters formed and how did they evolve? What are the key elements contributing their success? Are these clusters sustainable and replicable? To have a better understanding of these questions, we conducted a study of eleven cases of enterprise clusters in five low-income and two middle-income countries in Africa. This work has been managed by Douglas Zhihua Zeng, Economist, Knowledge for Development Program.
For more information, see the book: Knowledge, Technology and Cluster-Based Growth in Africa. February 2008.
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