From Survivalism to Entrepreneurship, Disclosure and Accountability: Rethinking African Urban Economies for Sustainability

The entrepreneurial potential of the informal sector is becoming more widely acknowledged. However, empirical research on the effectiveness of small, medium enterprises (SMEs) in Africa's informal economy is generally lacking. In light of this research vacuum, this paper examines entrepreneurial enabling factors in the setting of Zimbabwean townships to ascertain how they affect the performance of SMEs which eventually lead to the formalisation of these SME’s that will result in disclosure of financial information. In Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, SMEs headquartered in townships are surveyed, and correlation and regression analysis are used to evaluate hypotheses. The findings show that enterprise performance is significantly predicted by institutional support, talent and competency development, and access to markets and financing. It is a crucial strategy that considers the range of enabling environment elements that affect enterprise performance in Zimbabwe, a country beset by high unemployment, poverty, inequality, and other socioeconomic issues.