Second-Generation Entrepreneurship

This chapter looks into the second-generation Black Africans in the UK diaspora and their activities (e.g., social and economic). The second-generation Black African entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs tend to have different enterprise tendencies and socio-cultural value compared to the first-generation Black Africans. Together with the analysis of their entrepreneurship, this chapter reviews their preparations, motivations, and experiences in the UK and the instrumentality of their agency in the development of their parents' homeland (ancestral home).

Being and Belonging

This chapter analyzes the themes of “assimilation” or “alienation” in the UK from the perspective of the Black African entrepreneurship dovetailing into the issue of double jeopardy against women. The objective is to highlight the perceived sense of inclusion or exclusion among the entrepreneurs and incidentally raise the issue of the penalties around African women entrepreneurship in the UK.

The Informal and Illegal Entrepreneurship

This chapter looks into the economic activities in unofficial and illegitimate spaces by providing an insight into why some Black African entrepreneurs work and feel justified in operating outside the formal/legal structures regulated by the government. Its contribution is in the understanding of the Black African entrepreneurship at the periphery or grey zones of the market economy.

Black African Entrepreneurship in the UK

This chapter appraises the general literature of immigrant and ethnic entrepreneurship linking it with the evaluation of the nature and characteristics of the entrepreneurial activities of Black Africans in the UK. It aims to understand, within this context, the process, challenges, attribution, and outcome of their entrepreneurship.

Black Africans' Migration to Europe

This chapter examines issues concerning the epochal migration trend of Black Africans to the UK, which oscillates between forced and voluntary migrations, and the socio-cultural factors that provoke mass movement of Black Africans to the UK. In addition, the chapter looked into the consequences of migration and the “enterprise” of human trafficking and human smuggling against the background of mass emigration from SSA.

Diaspora and Transnational Entrepreneurship

This chapter appraises the phenomenon of diaspora entrepreneurs among UK-based Black Africans and the degree to which they have internationalized their businesses. In addition, the chapter examines the characteristics of Black African diaspora and transnational entrepreneurship and its similarities/differences with the ethnic entrepreneurship in the UK. Furthermore, concepts that surround this phenomenon such as remittances, diaspora direct investment are reviewed.

Introduction and Overview

The chapters in this book are intended to bring together new thinking and insights to the fields of ethnic entrepreneurship, diaspora and transnational entrepreneurship, and other allied disciplines. Although the chapters are varied, they are arranged into three thematic phases to offer essential resources to researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. Hence, each chapter is projected to stand alone, advancing ample perspective on a particular topic in ethnic entrepreneurship genre. In consequence, there might be occasional repetition or overlap between the chapters that might affect the anticipated “storytelling” effect of the book. Chapter 1 begins by stating the purpose of this book and the gaps it aims to fill. The succeeding section delineates the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and highlights the inconsistency in its demarcations. This is followed by a brief commentary on the concept of imperialism, the aim of which is to draw attention to the foundation of the link between Black Africans and the European colonizers as a foretaste to the “economy” of Black Africans' immigration to Europe. Next is the section on the British society, which is an attempt to contextualize the historicity of Black Africans in the UK, followed by the description and the outlines of the other chapters in the book. Lastly, the points of departure are specified to reduce confusion and clear up anomalies that may exist in the usage of terms and phrases. In addition, each chapter has dedicated columns for definitions of concepts and theories used. Case insights' boxes are also included – they serve to emphasize the theme(s) discussed in the chapter.

Background to Migration

Although the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is not a monolithic entity but a collection of 48 independent states, the SSA's economy is analyzed as though it were a single unit in this chapter. This is because the SSA as a whole is confronted with a wide range of interlinked economic and socio-cultural problems that include high levels of unemployment and poor infrastructural challenges. Thus, this chapter evaluates issues of governance, institution, infrastructure, demography, capital flight, corruption, and the informal sector associated with economic growth and human development. These issues are deemed useful constructs to understand the “desperation” and “struggle” for emigration out of Africa by many Black Africans.

Returnee Entrepreneurship

The chapter reviews issues relating to return and transnational movements of the Black African diaspora entrepreneurs back to their countries of origin. The chapter analyzes and discusses issues on challenges and opportunities around returnee entrepreneurship and its associated development agenda. The chapter is developed from theoretical insights gathered from studies, which integrate returnee and capacity development literatures. Hence, an elaborate paradigm of the process through which Black African entrepreneur returnees evolve to facilitate the transfer of skills and knowledge for the development of their countries of origin is generated.

Ethnic Associations and Entrepreneurship

The chapter interrogates the peculiarities of business and marketing activities among the Black Africans' organized social spaces such as religious associations, parties, and get-togethers. This demonstrates the ability of Black African groups to adjust to a secondary range of social conditions in the UK through the adoption of social networking practices that tracks the contours of their cultures and entrepreneurial agency.