Tid: 03/06/2016 15:00 til 03/06/2016 17:00

Sted: Roskilde Universitet, Institut for Samfundsvidenskab og erhverv, 25.1 Theory room, Trekroner pr. Roskilde

Arrangør: N/A

Afrikanske firmaers snubletråde og muligheder

 

There will be a seminar and reception to launch the FSE-funded research project 'Getting out of the Learning Trap: African-owned firms building capabilities in global value chains' (AFRICAP). 

Becoming competitive in global value chains requires that local firms in African countries access, master and adapt foreign technology, which in turn requires that they build the technical, managerial and organizational skills needed to utilize foreign technology efficiently—what are called technological capabilities.

But, African-owned firms are in a learning trap: they have very low initial capabilities, which means they are least likely to undertake the risky and costly process of trying something new and investing in learning. AFRICAP will document and explain the conditions under which African-owned firms get out of this learning trap.

In other words, when and why do firms take the risk? And why do some become succeed and become internationally competitive, while others do not? The project will answer this question by focusing on industry case studies in Ethiopia, Madagascar and Kenya.

The research team will present an overview of project and the industry cases:

Lindsay WhitfieldPrincipal Investigator, Associate Professor, ISE, RUC.

Cornelia Staritz, Senior Researcher at the Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE).

Francis Mulangu, Researcher, African Center for Economic Transformation (Accra, Ghana).

Ayelech Tiruwha Melese, PhD candidate at RUC.

Roberta Rabellotti will discuss the ideas and objectives of the project and her current research on foreign direct investment in Africa. Roberta Rabellotti is Professor of Economics in the Department of Political and Social Science in the Università di Pavia.

 

WHERE: 25.1 Theory room followed by a drinks reception in the foyer