Local and International Factors Affecting Participation of Tanzanian Small and Medium Enterprises in Market Opportunity Brought by the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)

The study aimed at assessing local and international factors that affect participation of Tanzanian Small and Medium enterprises in market opportunity brought by African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The study focussed on Tanzania local SMEs engaged in garments and textiles, handicrafts, leather goods, footwear and agro-processing subsectors. The study utilized mixed approach methods and involved a total of 129 respondents. Questionnaire and interview were the main tools for data collection. Information was collected from the owners and marketers of SMEs located in Dar es Salaam, the officials of Ministry of Industry and Trade as well as the Tanzania Ministry of foreign Affairs and East Africa Cooperation. Quantitative data was analysed using SPSS software and qualitative data was examined using MAXQDA software. Findings revealed that both local and international related factors were inhibiting Tanzanian SMEs from engaging in the AGOA market. Such factors have been narrated in this paper and recommendations have been given in order to increase engagement of Tanzanian SMEs in the AGOA market.

Role of Science and Technology Institutions in Limited Catch-up

Chapter 4 analyzes China’s semiconductor industry from the sectoral systems of innovation perspective. The industry remained limited in terms of catch-up in market shares and technology. The chapter explains the reasons for the limited catch-up in terms of the characteristics of the technology regime of the industry. In the semiconductor industry, innovations are frequent and technologies are highly cumulative, which places the latecomer in a disadvantageous position in terms of entry possibility. Furthermore, the market for standard integrated circuit chips is not segmented but highly integrated, which implies no low-end niche market for latecomers to enter first. Therefore, latecomer firms encounter difficulty in seizing a market opportunity through differentiated marketing. The situation worsens with the continued increase of the required investment and shortening of life cycles. Furthermore, the existing practice of Western countries restricting the transfer of core technologies to Communist countries, such as China, amplifies the difficulties faced by Chinese firms.

Mango Peel Pectin: Recovery, Functionality and Sustainable Uses

Concerns regarding the overconsumption of natural resources has provoked the recovery of biopolymers from food processing biomass. Furthermore, the current market opportunity for pectin in other areas has increased, necessitating the search for alternative pectin resources. This is also a step towards the sustainable and circular green economy. Mango peel is the byproduct of agro-processing and has been used for high value-added components such as polysaccharide biopolymers. Pectin derived from the peel is yet to be exploited to its greatest extent, particularly in terms of its separation and physiochemical properties, which limit its applicability to dietary fiber in culinary applications. The functionality of the mango peel pectin (MPP) strongly depends on the molecular size and degree of esterification which highlight the importance of isolation and characterisation of pectin from this novel resource. This article therefore provides a useful overview of mango peel as a potential biomaterial for the recovery of MPP. Different extraction techniques and the integrated recovery were also discussed. The utilisation of MPP in different industrial schemes are also detailed out from different perspectives such as the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. This review convincingly expresses the significance of MPP, providing a sustainable opportunity for food and pharmaceutical development.

An analysis of to deliver cheap nutritious products: National Fish Barn Program

There is a program called the national fish barn (Lumbung Ikan Nasional), which aims at delivering fish to consumers from the the country’s most productive fishing areas, namely Maluku. The program has focused on the preparation of integrated ports and concerns aspects of the readiness of the participating districts and cities. This paper was based on a research conducted in January – March 2021, with an objective to assess their readiness indexes, covering five related dimensions: ecological, economic, social, institutional, technological. Analytical tools used in this study were multi dimentional scaling and prospective analysis. The multidimensional scaling (MDS) data was obtained through mail surveys involving fisheries service officials in 11 districts and cities. Applyng the same technique, data collection for prospective analysis involving local university scientests. The results of MDS analysis showed that 11 districts and cities demonstrated readiness indexes categorized as ‘fairly prepared to very prepared’ for the ecological, economic and social dimensions. Challenges are found in the institutional and infrastructure dimensions, where there are a number of districts and cities indexed ‘less prepared’ or even ‘unprepared’. The research concluded with the result of prospective analysis, which then become policy implication of this research; in this case, it is recommended that a number of attributes should receive attention to improve the readiness indexes of participating districts and cities. These attributes are: ‘market opportunity’, ‘business competitiveness’, ‘participation of entrepreneurs’, ‘financial institutions’, ‘information infrastructure’

Exploring the Ingredient Choices and Maximum Budget for Fresh Food Boxes in Taiwan

Fresh food boxes have been famous in many countries for providing convenience and supporting local production, while the convenient access of various market channels in Taiwan makes it difficult to develop. The COVID-19 events shed light on the opportunity to promote fresh food boxes. Due to the complexity of consumer preferences, it is important to investigate the market opportunity of fresh food boxes. A total of 748 valid survey data were collected throughout Taiwan from July to September in 2019. The analysis of variance and interval regression model with random utility theory was adopted to explore food product preferences and to elicit the maximum budget for the fresh food box. Results show that marrow vegetables, fruits, and meats are the major categories that must be included in the list of the fresh food box. The average maximum budget for a fresh food box is about TWD 702 (about USD 25), while the highest maximum budget can reach up to TWD 1202 (about USD 43) for some potential consumers. Although fresh food boxes have a market opportunity in Taiwan, the market potential may be more focused on those who have online market shopping experiences. Marketers would need more marketing strategies to enhance more potential shoppers to adopt the online purchase for fresh food boxes.

Entrepreneurial feminism in Kigali

Entrepreneurship has been attributed to a masculine career in many economies. Rwanda was no exception to the discrimination of women in entrepreneurship. Due to gender, stereotype, and patriarchy, Rwandan women were not free in deciding to participate in entrepreneurial feminism. Some women became liberalists to break the glass ceiling to launch entrepreneurial feminism. They faced constraints that included a lack of entrepreneurship skills, market opportunity, and fear of failure. This article aimed to explore how gender affects new entrepreneurial feminism creation in Kigali. A quantitative approach used to collect survey data from 409 women-owned SMEs in Kigali were selected purposively. The findings indicated that most women-owned SMEs in Kigali started a necessary business due to unemployment. In contrast, those who needed time to care for their family while generating income launched the opportunity business. (64.3%) accepted permission from partners to start a business. While (24.9%) broke the glass ceiling. A lack of entrepreneurship skills was the major constraint they faced.

Shared economy: Uber como catalisador do índice de desemprego e oportunidade de mercado no Maranhão / Shared economy: Uber as a catalyst for the unemployment index and market opportunity in Maranhão

O desenvolvimento das tecnologias são aperfeiçoadas independentes das consequências e isso reflete no mercado de trabalho, mudando completamente a forma de gerar renda. A economia compartilhada inovou nesse quesito e mudou a relação entre cliente e prestador de serviço, esses novos negócios ganharam destaque do modelo tradicional e surgiram com a perspectiva de mudar a visão moderna em relação ao consumo em massa. A Uber é um exemplo de empresa que adotou o modelo de compartilhamento. O surgimento da Uber em 2010 foi no período de crise econômica e ao chegar no Brasil em 2014 ganhou vários adeptos que viram na Uber uma forma de ganhar dinheiro ou como fator de renda extra. Nesse sentido, as mudanças no mercado de trabalho devem ser pesquisadas, haja visto que os impactos dessa nova realidade atingi diretamente o modo de vida das pessoas. Assim, justifica-se a elaboração desse estudo que se mostra relevante no sentido de trazer uma pesquisa centrada em um fenômeno ainda pouco estudado, mas que se tornou realidade no contexto do mercado atual. O presente trabalho teve como questão: como a Uber se tornou uma das principais alternativas para minimização do índice de desemprego? Em busca dessa resposta teve como objetivo analisar a Uber como fator de influência na minimização do índice de desemprego. Para isso, foram identificados os perfis de motoristas da Uber; a caracterização das organizações de economia compartilhada e feita a confirmação da influência da Uber na renda familiar. Para realização da pesquisa foi disponibilizado um link do questionário, através do Google Forms e foram coletadas 50 respostas de motoristas da Uber no Maranhão. Em seguida, feito uma análise e compilação dos dados coletados e observou que a economia compartilhada impactou na nova realidade de trabalho no mercado do Maranhão.

Fostering Art and Cultural Entrepreneurship in Underserved Communities: A Case of Newark, NJ

Policymakers worldwide have invested in art and cultural industries (ACIs) as important vehicles for economic development. However, the issues of race, ethnicity, gender, and inequality have not been sufficiently addressed. This study investigates the factors that enable or constrain art and cultural entrepreneurship (ACE) in Newark, NJ. The findings suggest that a sense of place and the social identities of diverse business owners significantly impact the process of launching and operating creative businesses. Insufficient market opportunity, lack of resources in the community, and uneven distribution of wealth across racial groups are among the biggest challenges they face. Despite these challenges, these artist-entrepreneurs have proactively worked as both business owners and art-industrial gatekeepers to promote themselves and other underrepresented groups in the marketplace. The study also highlights universities’ role in the regional entrepreneurship ecosystem in promoting ACIs. It calls for policy and practices fostering minority entrepreneurship in ACIs, bringing artists to the core of entrepreneurship and development strategies in these communities.

Food Procurement in Post-neoliberal Countries: Examples from South America

This article analyzes public food procurement policy as one of the characteristics of post-neoliberalism in South America, whereby food produced by family farmers and peasants is purchased by the state and then donated to low-income people and public-school students. Focusing on Brazil, Ecuador, and Paraguay, the study demonstrates how such experiences partly break the control that large agri-food corporations exert in the food systems of these countries. This occurs because public food procurement has created a new market opportunity for family farmers and peasants and has also functioned as a mechanism to combat hunger and promote democratized access to good food. Moreover, such initiatives can be understood as providing a possibility to re-spatialize food by promoting closer contact between food producers and consumers.