Early account of AAE, 2004-2009

Conception

The idea of an African Association of Entrepreneurs (AAE) was conceived in May 2003 by the founder, Mr. Cornelius Nartey. An entrepreneur himself, he dedicated his spare time to community development projects for a local non-profit, collaborating
with other volunteers in Ghana and across the globe. He recognized a need for greater impact.

Africa is home to many severely needy and marginal but enterprising individuals working in low-income communities, adversely affected by unfavorable economic policies, illiteracy and poor enterprise support infrastructures. There was an urgent
need to encourage volunteerism and to coordinate the efforts of volunteers through institutional platforms to bring about the maximum impact in the face of extreme poverty, injustice, and untold human suffering. In May 2004, a significant community
project was initiated, aimed at addressing the generally low entrepreneurial spirit of graduates as well as community members. This project, facilitated by Tree of Life International, gave birth to AAE.

Businesses in Ghana were categorized as informal micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and faced an extremely unfavorable business environment. Over the decades, this had resulted in a shift from entrepreneurship to a proliferation of
petty trading. Small enterprises, which employed between one to five people, covered close to 70 percent of the Ghanaian labor force, ranging from farming, agri-businesses, light manufacturing, arts and crafts, textiles and garments, tourism,
financial services, construction, and carpentry, among many other businesses. To foster the growth of these enterprises, targeted interventions were required to enhance their prospects and competitiveness. The AAE was proactive in understanding and raising awareness of the entrepreneurial community’s needs.

The First Projects

In May 2005, AAE implemented a project titled “Promoting the Use of ICTs in Pro- Private Sector Reform,” funded by a grant from the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund. The aim of the project was to set up an Online Advocacy
Toolkit and provide a means of advocacy for entrepreneurs. At the time, internet access was relatively low; however, the project proceeded undeterred and successfully ignited interest in online advocacy.

Recognizing the importance of micro-finance services in encouraging entrepreneurial activities in impoverished rural communities, the AAE contributed to micro-finance initiatives in Ghanaian communities in November 2005. A total of 1715 small-scale business operators, comprising fishermen, fishmongers, petty traders, hawkers, mobile phone retailers, farmers, and food processors, participated. AAE staff received training from Ghana’s Cooperative Credit Unions Association and The Ministry of
Finance & Economic Planning. In 2011, AAE handed over the micro-finance operations to the communities involved, which now run as independent projects with the support of micro-finance specialists/consultants of their choice.

In November 2009, AAE began an outreach to other African countries and started its community website project, aaeafrica.org. The action plan was to help build the human resource capacity of members by boosting management and learning skills of
micro, small, and medium enterprises. Through a partnership with the United Nations Volunteers Online Volunteer Service, AAE mobilized online volunteers for diverse support service task assignments, benefiting members of various African countries.
A partnership with The Youth Employment Network (YEN) marked the start of e-coaching services for AAE members in November 2009. E-coaches provided business support and advice to young entrepreneurs and accompanied them through the process
of setting up their businesses and finding solutions to specific business challenges.

Participating entrepreneurs benefited from the mentor’s advice, knowledge, and expertise in a specific industry. Mentors received training before beginning their roles, and the Marketplace provided an online platform for communication and networking. YEN, a partnership among the United Nations, International Labour Organization, and the World Bank, was established post-Millennium Summit in 2001 to address youth employment challenges by matching experienced mentors with young entrepreneurs.

Conclusion

The AAE’s formative years, from 2004 to 2009, marked the ideation stage of the organization. It encompassed business sector advocacy projects, community microfinance initiatives, partnerships, and initial efforts to extend AAE services across Africa and beyond.

Businesses in Ghana fell within the category of informal micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and face an extremely unfavourable business environment. Over those decades, this has resulted in shifting the focus from entrepreneurship to a proliferation of petty trading. Small enterprises employ between one to five people, and cover close to 70 per cent of the Ghanaian labour force, ranging from farming, agri-businesses, light manufacturing, art and craft, textile and garments, tourism, financial services, construction and carpentry, among many other businesses. However, for the growth of these enterprises, there is need for appropriate interventions to improve their prospect and competitiveness. AAE began considering efforts at knowing continually about the needs of the entrepreneurial community and helping raise awareness on them.

The first projects

In May 2005, AAE implemented a project titled “Promoting the Use of ICTs in Pro-Private Sector Reform” through a grant of the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund. The aim of the project was to set up an Online Advocacy Toolkit and provide a means of advocacy for entrepreneurs. At a time, internet access was relatively low, however, we proceeded undeterred. This paid off in helping bring about the interest in online advocacy.

Access to suitable micro-finance services was also identified as one of the key measures to encourage entrepreneurial activities in poor rural communities. In line with this, AAE contributed to micro-finance startups in Ghana communities in November 2005.
1715 small-scale business operators comprising fishermen, fishmongers, petty traders, hawkers, mobile-phone retailers, farmers and food processors participated. AAE staff received training from Ghana’s Cooperative Credit Unions Association and The Ministry of Finance & Economic Planning. In 2011, AAE handed over the micro-finance operations to the communities involved. They now run as independent projects with the support of micro-finance specialists/consultants of their choice.

In November 2009, AAE began an outreach to other African countries and started its community website project, aaeafrica.org. The action plan was to  help build the human resource capacity of members, by boosting management and learning skills of micro, small and medium enterprises. Through a partnership with the United Nations Volunteers Online Volunteer Service, AAE mobilized online volunteers for diverse support service task assignments and this benefitted members of  various African countries.

A partnership with The Youth Employment Network (YEN) marked the start ofe-coaching services for AAE members  in November 2009. E-coaches provided business support and advice to young entrepreneurs and accompanied them through the process of setting up their business and finding solutions to specific business challenges. Participating entrepreneurs benefited from the mentor’s advice, knowledge and expertise in a specific industry. Mentors would receive training before they started and the Marketplace provided an online platform for communication and networking. YEN was then a partnership of the United Nations, International Labour Organization, and the World Bank set up after the Millennium Summit in 2001 to find new and durable solutions to the youth employment challenge. The program set out to match experienced mentors to young entrepreneurs.

Conclusion