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Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) can play a significant role in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) as they have the ability to reduce unemployment. Digitalization helps MSMEs in a number of ways, including lowering transaction costs, quickening access to information, and bettering communication with extended supply chain members. This chapter aims to understand the level of digitalization in MSMEs in an emerging economy such as Bangladesh. MSMEs in Bangladesh account for 25% of the gross domestic product and employ 87% of civilians. This chapter builds on qualitative data from 60 MSMEs from various manufacturing and service sectors such as textile, retail, food delivery, IT companies, etc. The interviews were semi-structured and followed an interview protocol. The length of interviews varied between 40 and 50 minutes. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. Findings suggest that counterintuitively the level of digitization in MSMEs is not low in Bangladesh. Many micro and small enterprises use MS Excel to help them manage customer and product data. Medium Enterprises use Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software for planning enterprise-wide resources. Some medium enterprises also use powerful data analytics software such as Oracle, Power BI, Google Analytics, Python, and SPSS. Results also reveal barriers to digitization in MSMEs, which include a lack of employee awareness, training, and motivation of top management. This chapter maps the digitalization levels in MSMEs in Bangladesh and provides implications for SGDs. The chapter also presents policy recommendations for improving the digitalization level in emerging economies.

African indigenous vegetables have high nutritive value which contains high levels of minerals. The current status of indigenous vegetable production in developing countries shows that these crops are “under-recognized” and “underutilized” with respect to nutritional value and opportunities for food security. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the production of underutilized vegetables on the livelihood of farmers in South Western Nigeria.

The population for the study includes all the vegetable farmers in South Western Nigeria with a special focus on farmers’ groups formed by the NICANVEG project in Osun, Oyo, Ondo and Ekiti states. Descriptive statistics and propensity score matching (PSM) was used to analyze the objective.

Perceptions on individual household income reveal that the majority of participating respondents perceived higher production and harvesting density. This is due to the fact that harvesting is done by cutting the stems of the vegetables. The probability score shows that the dependent variables have an average effect of 44.6 percent on the probability of farmers participating in NICANVEG project. The PSM results reveal that average treatment effect on the treated is ₦269,254.87. Average treatment on the untreated is ₦11,990.63 while average treatment effect is ₦139,336.43. The total income of the participants from all the various livelihood strategies is increased by 29.73 percent because of their participation in the NICANVEG project.

This work has not been carried out by any other person before. This work will add to the existing knowledge on the impact of evaluation in agricultural economics.

The purpose of this paper is to establish the evidence for, the why and how recent austerity policy atmosphere associated with the UK government affected environmental protection decisions within planning in Scotland.

A qualitative analysis based on perspectives gathered via questionnaire survey targeted at stakeholders involved in planning in Scotland was undertaken. The questionnaire responses were analysed thematically, supplemented by using statistical tests of significance and variance to show how responses differed across participants.

The evidence showed that austerity policy atmosphere resulted in a pervasive neoliberal imperative of resuscitating the economy; whilst producing subtle and adverse effects on environmental decisions. This was best understood within a neo-Gramscian perspective of hegemony, borrowed from the field of political economy of states.

The gathered views were constrained within unknown biases that the participants may have had; and because the case study approach was not equipped to generalise the results beyond the study, more research testing cause-effect between the austerity and selected environmental parameters is needed, from various contexts.

Decision-making frameworks should explicitly acknowledge the unique pressures during austerity periods; and contemplate resilient decision-making frameworks that can withstand the hegemonic tendencies which prioritise economic goals above environmental ones.

Whilst the area of austerity’s impacts on the environment remains poorly evidenced, empirically, this seminal paper uses robust analysis to establish how the austerity policy atmosphere affects environmental decisions. This is insight into what may be happening in other similar situations outside Scotland, raising concern as to whether and how we should approach the challenge of hegemonic ideas.

The purpose of the study is to assess performance of local level planning policies that required new buildings to avoid a specified and rising proportion of projected greenhouse gases (GHGs) from their use; it is calculated based on the approved design and plans for the specific development and through the installation and operation of low and zero-carbon generating technologies (LZCGTs).

Data were extracted from a random sample of 911 new builds from 403 planning applications and related documents, across five Scottish local planning authorities (LPAs) who adopted GHG reduction policies. The data included GHG reduction, LZCGT installation and performance, use of plan designs to meet GHG reductions and exemptions from the GHG policies. Descriptive statistics using SPSS software, complimented by qualitative responses from questionnaires, helped to explain observed performance.

The policies performed poorly, at the level of delivering low-hanging fruits, with significant room for improvement. Design-led opportunities in the GHG policies were not actively pursued; most LZCGT installation was exempted from GHG policies and the policies were poor in targeting the relationship between building unit size, GHG emission and reductions.

The source documents, where the data came from, had varying quality and completeness and some LPAs are over-represented in the data. The study applied limited criteria to evaluate policy performance.

Areas for policymakers to further focus on when exploring how to enhance role and performance of LZCGT are highlighted, including practical suggestions.

One of the few studies assessing policy performance and distilling lessons, from early adopters of GHG policies at local level planning, offer performance benchmarks and raise points of concern for policymakers.

Over a long period of time, the evolution and development of indigenous management theories and practices in Africa have been seriously distracted and hindered by European colonialism and Western education. The colonial administration introduced Western management theories and practices, considered as the drivers and the remedy for the continent’s socio-politico-economic development. Western scholarship and literature generally undervalued and condemned the management proficiency and practices of early African civilisations, as evidenced, for instance, in the building of the great Egyptian pyramids. Foreign management systems generally botched the development of indigenous African business practices as they failed to achieve the expected goals. We argue that the development of indigenous African management practices and philosophy ought to be rooted in the African culture, value system and beliefs to provide the practical way for the efficient and effective running of organisations in Africa. Nevertheless, there are still indigenous family business management practices that can be co-opted into today’s business practices. The Ubuntu management system and the ‘new management techniques’, which emphasise humanness, communalism and African patriotism, provide the veritable starting point for the development of indigenous African management philosophy. The chapter starts with a brief description of family business in Africa. Highlighting the relevant indigenous management practices, to mention, strategic process, governance, human resource and succession planning then follow in this order. The next section is on the origins of the indigenous management practices and then we conclude with a section on unique differences from Western models and provide advice to educators and practitioners. As an approach, the cases that have been used are for illustration purposes and do not claim to be representative of African indigenous business practices since Africa is too diverse.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the profitability of urban chicken production in the medium-sized cities of Kisumu and Thika, Kenya.

Data were collected in 2016 from a sample of 157 indigenous chicken producers in the two cities. Descriptive analyses were used to characterize indigenous chicken production, marketing and profitability. In addition, multivariate regression models were estimated to determine factors influencing profitability of the enterprise.

Urban indigenous chicken production mainly serves a dual role of food provision and income generation. The enterprise is profitable, generating an average gross margin of Ksh. 756/bird. The multivariate regression models show that access to high-value markets, household income level and the type of production system used significantly affect profitability of indigenous chicken farming. However, poultry diseases and high input costs especially feed are the major constraints to poultry farming.

This study has used cross-sectional data that provides information for only one point in time. Future research should be able to capture the seasonality of indigenous chicken production.

This study has shown that indigenous chicken production in urban areas is a viable and profitable enterprise, which could provide an avenue for employment and income generation.

Studies assessing profitability of urban agricultural enterprises are scant. Thus, this study provides insights on the profitability of a common urban agriculture enterprise.

This chapter examines US Africa Policy under Obama with a particular focus on the Southern African region. The author examines American policy from a historical perspective to give credence to his view that while certain changes have occurred in American global and Africa Policy in particular, it is the issues that have changed, and the drivers of that policy change but the fundamental basis of the American policy has not changed much. American policy has remained anchored on global hegemony driven by the increasingly frayed Washington consensus as expressed initially in its Cold War rhetoric and stance against the former USSR and its perceived allies and now against terrorism.

This work examines the existing literature on Southern African history and politics written by scholars and observers including regional heads of state like Nyerere of Tanzania and Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia. This study also draws from the author’s knowledge and experiences as a citizen and observer over the years of the many facets of vicissitudes of regional politics and is interface with international foreign policy pressures and interests. This work thus, draws from the literature on and about regional politics and international relations over the years coupled by the author’s personal experiences.

This chapter makes clear link between Cold War politics and current American foreign policy on African and the Southern African region in particular. In fact the US anti-terrorism rhetoric has remained consistent during and after the Cold War. During the Cold War, liberation movements in Southern Africa fighting to end colonial rule and racist apartheid regime were declared terrorist movements and hence the subject of US hostility especially given these movements’ support for arms and materials from the USSR and China. USSR was manufactured as the organizer of international terrorism. Proxy wars were waged to deal with these movements and their supporters such as the war in Angola where the United States supported dubious and questionable characters like Jonas Savimbi of the National Union for the Total Liberation of Angola (UNITA) and Holden Robert of the Front for the National Liberation of Angola (FNLA) and Zairian dictator, Mobutu SeseSeko. While FNLA was widely accepted as a CIA outfit, Mobutu was imposed by US intelligence support (CIA) against a popular leader, Patrice Lumumba, who was assassinated shortly after independence.

At the end of the Cold War a new form of terrorism manifested itself in the form of Muslim Jihadists who on the continent were seen to emerge in East Africa and the Horn of Africa and the American fascination has been to ensure that this terrorism does not afflict the rest of the continent and the Southern African region in particular. Support to African governments has shifted from the initial years of confused neglect complimented with ambivalent engagement and finally, to humanitarianism. This has taken the form of the support to Africa to fight HIV and AIDS so as to harvest a favourable ground among African governments. This was seen as helping to ensconce American support in the region and weaken the ground for the Al Qaeda intrusion, real or imagined. It was also hoped that this might help counter growing Chinese influence. It is not entirely surprising too that the economic and strategic focus has been to sustain a declining hegemonic position especially in a region where Chinese investments and influence have outstripped American and Western influence.

This paper sets out to assess and analyses the key pillars of the SEA framework in Kenya, highlighting aspects that should be considered for further scrutiny and review, aiming at evolving a suitable context‐specific Kenyan SEA.

Content analysis of the SEA framework was done through desktop research. This was supplemented by a two‐month internship at the National Environmental Management Authority in Kenya. The key documents prescribing and describing SEA in Kenya (legal documents, guidelines) formed a basis for interpretative analysis. International literature on SEA frameworks also formed a basis for analysis.

Although the SEA framework is relatively complete, there are certain elements that are incomplete, e.g. environmental and sustainability standards have not been formally established. Some provisions are unclear or reveal internal incoherency within the framework. For example, the definitions of policies, plans, programmes and projects are not clearly differentiated for the purpose of the SEA framework. The framework is premised on “an early SEA” yet the key exercises of public participation and the triggering of the SEA exercise are both carried out late. There is need for SEA‐EIA tiering and SEA definitions and purposes to be harmonized within the various documents of the framework. Sector‐level SEA guidelines offer the most appropriate opportunity to address most of the substantive shortcomings of the framework.

The results provide a baseline for departure towards further scrutiny and research in order to evolve a more homegrown SEA, as opposed to merely copyng what other countries have done. The highlighted areas are expounded on, with some suggestions given; in some instances no clear remedy is immediately obvious.

The paper is a seminal instigator of interest into the Kenyan SEA framework, which is still very young and devoid of experience and tradition. It brings to light and questions some key issues that seem to have the potential to reduce the benefits and instrumentality of the SEA tool in meeting Kenya's interest.

This study aims to document students’ supply chain solutions developed through the internship hackathon program. The study profiled innovative solutions developed by university students in Kenya to solve health supply chain logistics challenges during and beyond COVID-19. This is done by exploring students’ experience in developing sustainable logistics and supply chain management capacity-building programs in a low-middle-income country (LMIC).

This study used a qualitative approach to explore the experiences and perceptions of students and mentors who participated in a hackathon program. The study followed a cross-sectional descriptive survey design, collecting data from the participants through online questionnaires. The data were analyzed and presented using thematic analysis and narrative techniques.

Findings provide preliminary evidence for narrowing the gap between theory and practice through a hackathon internship blended with a mentorship program. Assessment of this program provides evidence for developing solutions toward ensuring the availability of essential medicine in LMICs during a pandemic such as COVID-19 by students. The profiled solutions demonstrate a broader perspective of innovative solutions of university students, mentors and potential opportunities for a triple helix approach to innovation for health supply chain system strengthening.

This original study provides evidence for advancing contribution to developing innovative solutions through partnerships between investors, universities and industry practitioners interested in mentoring students in the health-care supply chain during COVID-19 in LMICs. Specifically, contingency factors that affect the implementation of innovative programs during and beyond global pandemics such as COVID-19 by students’ innovators are identified, and implications for policy action are discussed based on the praxis of sensemaking.

This study examines a novel approach that combines internship, mentorship and hackathon projects for logistics and supply chain students in LMICs. The approach aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice and to create innovative solutions for essential medicines during and after COVID-19. The study urges more resources for supporting such programs, as they benefit both academia and industry. The study also argues that hackathon internship programs can help the logistics and supply chain industry adapt to the post-pandemic era. The study offers insights for investors, universities and practitioners in the health-care industry.

This study shows how to develop innovative solutions for the health-care supply chain during COVID-19 in an LMIC through partnerships between investors, universities and industry practitioners who mentor students. The study identifies the contingency factors that influence the success of such programs during and beyond global pandemics such as COVID-19 and discusses the policy implications based on the sensemaking praxis of the student innovators.

Climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic are complex and have multifaceted effects on countries in an unpredictable and unprecedented manner. While both COVID-19 and the climate crisis share similarities, they also have some notable differences. Being both systemic in nature with knock-on and cascading effects that propagate due to high connectedness of countries, COVID-19, however, presents imminent and directly visible dangers, while the risks from climate change are gradual, cumulative and often distributed dangers. Climate change has more significant medium and long-term impacts which are likely to worsen over time. There is no vaccine for climate change compared to COVID-19. In addition, those most affected by extreme climatic conditions have usually contributed the least to the root causes of the crisis. This is in fact the case of island economies. The chapter thus investigates into the vulnerability and resilience of 38 Small Islands Developing States (SIDs) to both shocks. Adopting a comprehensive conceptual framework and data on various indices from the literature and global databases, we assess the COVID-19 and climate change vulnerabilities of SIDs on multiple fronts. The results first reveal a higher vulnerability across all dimensions for the Pacific islands compared to the other islands in the sample. There is also evidence of a weak correlation between climate change risk and the COVID-19 pandemic confirming our premise that there are marked differences between these two shocks and their impacts on island communities.