1st Edition of the International Conference " Youth & Digital Entrepreneurship : Towards New Innovative and Global Business Models in Africa "
In a rapidly evolving global digital landscape, digital entrepreneurship has emerged as a transformative lever for economic, social, and technological progress. In Africa, this momentum is fostering the development of innovative, inclusive, and high-growth business models that address local needs while integrating into global value chains (World Bank, 2021; UNCTAD, 2022).
However, despite the promise, recent assessments reveal that young entrepreneurs remain underrepresented in the sphere of high-impact ventures (OECD, 2023). This limitation is not solely due to lack of experience, but more crucially, to restricted access to essential resources such as funding, digital skills, mentorship, and strategic networks (Ismail et al., 2020; Sutter, Bruton, & Chen, 2019). The absence of robust entrepreneurial ecosystems in many Global South countries continues to hinder youth entrepreneurship from achieving scalable and sustainable growth (Isenberg, 2011; Stam & van de Ven, 2021).
Monitor (GEM, 2024). Across the African continent, while over 40% of adults perceive entrepreneurial opportunities, an equivalent proportion refrain from launching a business due to fear of failure. Entrepreneurship remains largely necessity-driven, stemming from limited access to formal employment and strategic resources. Morocco exemplifies this trend: 12.5% of the adult population is engaged in early-stage entrepreneurial activity (TEA), yet 87.2% of these entrepreneurs report starting their ventures out of necessity, due to a lack of professional alternatives. Despite a high degree of social exposure to entrepreneurship — with 78% of Moroccans stating they know someone who has started a business — the ecosystem remains fragile. The country’s National Entrepreneurship Context Index (NECI) stands at only 3.9 out of 10, reflecting an environment that is not yet conducive to the emergence of sustainable and innovative ventures.
Meanwhile, digital transformation — driven by artificial intelligence, blockchain, fintech, cross-border e-commerce, and collaborative platforms — is reshaping how entrepreneurship unfolds, enabling startups to bypass traditional growth trajectories and rapidly internationalize (Nambisan, Wright, & Feldman, 2019; Autio, Szerb, Komlósi, & Tiszberger, 2022). They open up access to new markets and global audiences, while enabling local entrepreneurs to design solutions rooted in their contexts yet endowed with global relevance.
In this context, young people—often more fluent in digital tools than their elders—can represent a true driving force. Their comfort with digital environments, combined with creativity and dynamism, constitutes an underutilized reservoir of potential for innovation and disruption. However, this potential may remain untapped without systemic interventions, including inclusive public policies, accessible digital education, innovation funding mechanisms, and enabling infrastructure (Elia, Margherita & Passiante, 2020; Zahra & Wright, 2016).
What key themes will guide our collective understanding, debate, and action?
The conference "Youth and Digital Entrepreneurship: Towards New Innovative and Global Business Models in Africa" will organize its scientific reflections around the following thematic axes:
Track 1 :Entrepreneurial Inclusion of Youth in the Global South
Youth entrepreneurship in developing countries continues to be hindered by structural barriers (e.g., unemployment, unequal access to education and finance), requiring analysis of public policies and appropriate support mechanisms (Lans et al., 2014; Ismail et al., 2020). The integration of women and intergenerational dynamics—often overlooked—also represents a major area of research (Brush et al., 2009).
Structural barriers (socio-economic, educational, financial) to youth entrepreneurship
Support mechanisms, public policies, and the role of intermediary actors
Specificities of female entrepreneurship and intergenerational diversity
Track 2 :Business Models and Value Creation in Digital Entrepreneurship
The evolution of business models toward digital paradigms—such as platforms, SaaS, blockchain, and artificial intelligence—challenges classical theories of value creation and calls for a rethinking of growth models (Teece, 2010; Nambisan, 2017). Scalability, in particular, has become a central criterion for the viability of startups (Blank, 2013; Autio et al., 2022).
Transition from traditional models to digital and agile ones
Opportunities offered by digital technology: platforms, subscription models, e-commerce, AI, blockchain, etc.
Startup scalability: conditions for scaling up, growth models, limitations, and key success factors
Track 3:Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Growth Support
The ecosystem approach (Isenberg, 2011; Stam, 2015) provides a framework for mapping innovation environments by identifying the roles of incubators, universities, alternative financing mechanisms, and diasporas. These levers are crucial for supporting the emergence of startups in often fragmented contexts.
Mapping and assessment of ecosystems in Africa
Incubators, tech hubs, financing, mentoring, and the role of the diaspora
The contribution of universities and higher education institutions to startup development
Track 4 : Startup Internationalization in the Digital Age
Through the lens of the revised Uppsala model (Johanson & Vahlne, 2009) and research on accelerated internationalization (Knight & Cavusgil, 2004), it becomes relevant to analyze the expansion strategies adopted by digital startups originating from the Global South. Digital internationalization, facilitated by technology, offers new pathways to access global markets (Autio, Sapienza & Almeida, 2000).
Internationalization strategies of youth-led ventures from the Global South
Access to international markets and global value chains: barriers and opportunities
Case studies of African startups with international ambitions
Track 5 : Theoretical Reconsiderations and Comparative Perspectives
This final axis proposes a critical re-examination of classical entrepreneurship models (Schumpeter, 1942; Shane & Venkataraman, 2000) in light of African realities. The objective is to contribute to a North–South theoretical hybridization and the development of context-sensitive models (Zahra & Wright, 2016).
Critical review of classical models (Schumpeter, Isenberg, Uppsala…)
Hybridization of North-South entrepreneurial models
Regional comparisons and proposals for context-based theoretical frameworks
This event aims to foster synergy among key players in the entrepreneurial ecosystem — researchers, young entrepreneurs, incubators, public decision-makers, financial institutions, investors, and practitioners — around concrete, contextualized, and co-constructed courses of action.
Bibliography
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Sutter, C. J., Bruton, G. D., & Chen, J. (2019). Entrepreneurship as a solution to extreme poverty: A review and future research directions. Journal of Business Venturing, 34 (1), 197–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2018.06.003
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