Introduction

To its advocates, globalization is a “positive-sum game,” whereby every country is expected to benefit equally on a comparative basis, while pessimists see it as a “zero-sum game” that only exploits poorer countries for the benefit of the richer ones. Both arguments seem to hold true with practical examples for each. African economies seem only to qualify as cheap sources of low-value-added raw materials for processing products in industrialized countries and end up becoming markets for finished products. Due to the lack of a solid entrepreneurial and technological base to foster innovative and creative abilities, most African countries continue to remain backward, dependent, and at a competitive disadvantage in this age of globalization. In Nigeria, entrepreneurial development has not advanced much beyond the basic craft or artisan levels. Nor has foreign direct investment (FDI) grown appreciably, due to a dearth of both facilities and the factors that support them. This apparent disadvantage, according to Walter Rodney, has its origins partially in the legacy of slavery and colonialism in Africa, as those institutions and individuals responsible for economic activity basically exploited Africa’s natural resources and deliberately refused to encourage the practice of industrial manufacturing and technical development in Africa.

Entrepreneurs as development agents and globalization as an interdependent network of people, institutions, and markets are concomitant. Entrepreneurs in countries that have been able to discover beyond their borders what consumers in other countries need and are able to trade such goods through appropriate channels are economically the most prosperous, because they generate wealth, create employment opportunities, and improve the standard of living of their country’s citizens. In a similar way, those countries with a supportive enabling environment tend to attract FDI. However, the attention of foreign investors in large numbers has not been attracted or drawn to most of Africa like it has been to China and India. This chapter seeks to identify the factors that are constraining the development process in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), particularly in Nigeria, and to suggest ways that an entrepreneurial society and foreign-investment-based economy can be developed in the twenty-first century.

Methodology of Study

To conduct this study, I have used an environmental-scanning approach to survey the global, regional, national, and local levels.