Doctoral researcher Robiel Hailie is deeply concerned about the many challenges that entrepreneurs in Ethiopia face. He believes that finding solutions will not only help the economy but also address poverty and unemployment—and help entrepreneurs in other countries on the continent too.
Robiel Hailie is a firm believer in finding African solutions for African problems. But that is easier said than done — embarking on a study of small to medium businesses in Africa, he found that in 18 CABS ranked top-tier journals, there were 434 papers on the subject—with only 8 featuring case studies from Africa.
“This is a problem,” he says. “We need more data and empirical knowledge in this field.” The Ethiopian-based researcher has just enrolled for his PhD with the Allan Gray Centre for Africa Entrepreneurship (AGCAE) at Stellenbosch University.
Robiel holds a bachelor’s degree in management from Addis Ababa University, a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from Adama Science and Technology University (ASTU, also in Ethiopia), and an MSc in economics and economic policy from the University of Bologna (Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna), Italy.
After his time in Europe, he returned to Ethiopia, teaching and conducting research into innovation and entrepreneurship at ASTU and immersing himself in this field. His specific interest lies in understanding the ecosystem in which small—and medium-sized enterprises operate when they want to trade across borders in Africa.
It is, infamously, an uphill battle for such ambitious entrepreneurs, says Hailie. “Yet, this area offers so many opportunities to our people,” he laments. Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa, with a large number of young people and staggering levels of poverty.
Research shows that African entrepreneurs face manifold complications, from lack of finance and qualified personnel to support exports to poor infrastructure and difficulties getting a foothold in foreign markets.
“We need to find better ways to support entrepreneurs in Ethiopia,” he says, pointing out that the aim of his research, is to better understand what these businesses need to set up such international trading, and how best to thrive.
He has to rely on research from other middle- to low-income countries in Asia and South America. “They have similar experiences to Africa and their circumstances have been documented as broadly similar to ours,” he explains.
For Robiel, the topic is not only of academic consequence. In collaboration with colleagues, he has established a training and consulting enterprise that has served more than 5 000 local community members. Here he has seen how important resilience is. “It is such an important quality for entrepreneurs because they face many setbacks. That resilience comes through experience, not just through training and support from academia.”
Robiel is keen to make a significant contribution to the AGCAE’s five research themes, designed to contribute to local ecosystem building through data-driven dialogues.
“The Centre’s research themes just linked so perfectly with my interest,” he says. “And even just in the first three months working with my supervisors and the Centre, I have already learned so much.”
