African Entrepreneurialism in a Global Context : The Case of the Gurage in Ethiopia

Through ethnographic and archival research on the Gurage in Ethiopia, this book reframes entrepreneurialism as an identity-making process.
Analyzing competing entrepreneurial narratives and perspectives, this book uncovers how and why the once-underclass Gurage subsistence agriculturalists and serfs emerged as the national capitalist class of Ethiopia, replacing expatriate businesspeople. As Worku Nida shows, the historical narratives portray Gurage entrepreneurialism as a liberatory process through which the Gurage liberated themselves from serfdom and poverty and took over Ethiopia’s commercial sector, playing leading roles in the making of Ethiopia’s modern economy.
In explaining the factors that made the Gurage so successful, Nida offers a new framework called the three-legged scaffolding of entrepreneurial success, consisting of three key, intersecting variables: personal attributes, ethnic and cultural resources (such as equbs, Ethiopian ROSCAs), and structural-institutional opportunities (including state support). This book illustrates that the Gurage’s success derived from the interplay of group identity and national and global historical events.