[liberationtech] Reforming the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Post-Revolutionary Egypt & Tunisia

[Yosem Companys]

From: ARD Stanford <hsallam at stanford.edu>

Dear Colleagues,

It is with great pleasure that we announce the release of "Reforming the
Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Post-Revolutionary Egypt and
Tunisia<http://iis-db.stanford.edu/pubs/24614/Reforming_the_Entrepreneurship_Ecosystem_in_Post-Revolutionary_Egypt_and_Tunisia-_Amr_Adly.pdf>"
a study authored by CDDRL Fellow Amr Adly
<http://cddrl.stanford.edu/people/amr_adly/>based on fieldwork in both
Egypt and Tunisia. The study, which was produced jointly by
CDDRL<http://cddrl.stanford.edu/>and the Center
for International Private Enterprise <http://www.cipe.org/>, seeks to
understand the underdevelopment of private entrepreneurship in the two
countries despite years of economic liberalization (full description
below). Please click
here<http://cddrl.stanford.edu/publications/reforming_the_entrepreneurship_ecosystem_in_postrevolutionary_egypt_and_tunisia/>to
access the report.

Sincerely,
Program on Arab Reform and Democracy
Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, Stanford University
http://arabreform.stanford.edu


*Reforming the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Post-Revolutionary Egypt and
Tunisia*<http://iis-db.stanford.edu/pubs/24614/Reforming_the_Entrepreneurship_Ecosystem_in_Post-Revolutionary_Egypt_and_Tunisia-_Amr_Adly.pdf>

Ongoing upheaval in Egypt and Tunisia since the 2011 revolutions indicates
high levels of dissatisfaction with the political order, and expresses a
deep desire for a drastic remodeling of the economic system. Well-educated
young men and women still find themselves marginalized and excluded from
the political and economic order in their countries. Their initial demands
for freedom and social justice have hitherto gone unheeded. At the heart of
the ongoing political turmoil lies the demand for a sweeping socio-economic
reform that may eventually create an economy that offers inclusive-growth,
higher levels of productivity and competitiveness, and more job creation.
However, unless certain complex and long-term questions are tackled, it is
unlikely that political reform will lead to the creation of stable
democracies.

Entrepreneurship is one of the most dynamic approaches to socio-economic
transformation and development. It is intimately related to private sector
development, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise policies, job
creation, innovation, and competitiveness. However, unlike the study of
static policy and of regulatory areas or institutions and structures,
analyzing the entrepreneurship ecosystem captures a picture in motion.
Tackling the question of entrepreneurship links micro-level analysis that
touches upon direct barriers to entry and growth with macro-level analysis
that attempts to explain the lack of dynamism, low productivity,
undercapitalization and the weak prospects of growth of the broadest base
of the private sector in the region. Moreover, it may provide a way out of
the spiral of failed development in which Egypt and Tunisia have been
caught for decades.

This report wishes to answer two questions: Why has private
entrepreneurship in Egypt and Tunisia remained that underdeveloped despite
decades of economic liberalization and private sector-friendly incentives
and reforms? And how can the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the two
countries develop to meet the high expectations of the people of having a
productive and just socio-economic order.
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