Teaching personal initiative beats traditional training in boosting small business in West Africa

TLDR

In many developing countries, low‑income individuals run small firms with fewer than five workers, and prior attempts to grow these businesses through formal business skills training have produced mixed outcomes. The entrepreneurial training relies on psychological mechanisms that enhance personal initiative. The study finds that teaching entrepreneurial skills to self‑employed individuals significantly increases sales and profits. Campos et al., Science, this issue p.

Abstract

Helping people and their businesses grow Many lower-income people in developing countries do not receive a wage but instead are self-employed in small firms of fewer than five workers. Helping entrepreneurs to grow small businesses by teaching them formal business skills has yielded mixed results. Campos et al. show that teaching entrepreneurial skills to the self-empowered works much better in terms of increasing both sales and profits. The entrepreneurial training relies on psychological mechanisms that enhance personal initiative. Science , this issue p. 1287