Economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa has been slow and the region has been struggling to address the mounting challenges, ranging from unemployment to poverty. While research, especially from advanced economies, suggests that entrepreneurship is regarded as a major driver of productivity growth, it is still unclear whether and how entrepreneurship promotes productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Technological innovation is at the heart of economic growth and a critical factor in determining the competitiveness of regions, particularly for emerging economies opening rapidly and implementing catch-up policies. Using panel data of 31 provinces in China, this study examines the impact of government R&D support and venture capital investments on regional innovation and the interaction with firms’ R&D human capital.

Economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa has been slow and the region has been struggling to address the mounting challenges, ranging from unemployment to poverty. While research, especially from advanced economies, suggests that entrepreneurship is regarded as a major driver of productivity growth, it is still unclear whether and how entrepreneurship promotes productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Evidence on the relationship between innovation and companies’ performance remains inconclusive. This study contributes to the innovation literature by examining how innovation outputs lead a company to achieve economic returns above its industry’s average performance – superior performance.

This study addresses two central questions: (a) Do inward foreign direct investment (FDI) spillovers drive economic growth in emerging economies? and (b) How do the interconnectedness of inward FDI and energy demands cause economic growthin emerging economies?

The study aims to explore the role of non-mainstream financial schemes in supporting innovation within SMEs in developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. It investigates how informal credit, business group affiliation and foreign and state ownership arrangements influence SMEs’ innovative activities in environments with limited access to formal financial resources.