Following the positive contribution of microfinance to economic development in some parts of South East Asia and Africa, a huge amount of time has been devoted by researchers to understand this concept for sustainable development in Africa, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. The concept of microfinance also has significant positive relationship with microbusiness development. Though there are a few books on the relationship between microfinance and poverty reduction in Africa and some developing countries across world. There is no specific book that explores the relationship between microfinance and sustainable development in Africa. Certainly, the use of microfinance for poverty reduction and economic development in the developing world is growing. However, this concept needs to be expanded to ensure its application with the view to achieving sustainable development in developing countries, particularly in Africa. Therefore, this book seeks to explore how the provision of microfinance to individuals, groups and business organisations facilitates economic growth and sustainable development in Africa. In this regard, this book hopes to examine the complex relationship between receipt of microfinance, poverty reduction, economic growth and microbusiness development, focusing on the provision of small credit facilities as a driver of sustainable development in Africa. This book aims to examine and bring on board the various views and perspectives on the relationship between microfinance and sustainable economic development in Africa through industry experts, experienced researchers and policymakers. The concept of microfinance and its relationship with sustainable development in Africa will be explored by these experts and contributors from different perspectives with the view to forming an opinion on the problems, processes and prospects of microfinance in Africa. The focus here is Sub-Saharan Africa, which has witnessed growing activities of microfinance institutions. Theoretical and empirical insight to be provided in this book will be a priceless resource to microfinance institutions, policymakers, state institutions, managers and non-governmental organisations working in developing countries particularly in Africa. This book is envisaged to also benefit financial institutions that are looking to expand their product portfolio and outreach. The book will offer great insight into theoretical, policy-oriented and practical ways to address some of the challenges of using microfinance for sustainable development in Africa. Given the focus of this book on the nexus between microfinance and sustainable development, there will be a broadening of ideas on how the provision of microfinance can aid sustainable development in Africa.

Lean thinking involves more than just eliminating waste; through its five guiding principles-value, value chain, continuous flow, pull production, and perfection-its successful applications are commonly found in the manufacturing sector. Although its application and benefits to companies is no longer contested, it is rare to find works that consolidate applications of lean thinking in sectors that are unconventional, such as healthcare and government. Cases on Lean Thinking Applications in Unconventional Systems allows readers to broaden their view on lean thinking applications and visualize insights for research. It presents case studies and applications of lean thinking within several different industries. Covering topics such as emergency care units, standardized work, and national humanization policy, this case book is an essential resource for engineers, hospital administrators, healthcare professionals, IT managers, government officials, students and faculty of higher education, researchers, and academicians.

Perspectives from worldwide experts on how major cities across the globe are responding to the major environmental threats of our time, including global climate change Over half of the world's population now lives in cities, and this share is expected to increase in the coming decades. With growing urbanization, cities and their residents face substantial environmental challenges such as higher temperatures, droughts, wildfires, and increased flooding. In response to these pressing challenges, some cities have begun to develop local environmental regulations that supplement national and environmental laws. In so doing, cities have stepped into a role that has been historically dominated by higher levels of government. Global Sustainable Cities takes stock of the policies that have been implemented by cities around the world in recent years in several key areas: water, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate adaptation. It examines the advantages-and potential drawbacks-of allowing cities to assume a significant role in environmental regulation, given the legal and political constraints in which cities operate. The contributors present a series of case studies of the actions that seven leading cities-Abu Dhabi, Beijing, Berlin, Delhi, London, New York, and Shanghai-are taking to improve their environments and adapt to climate change. The first volume of its kind, Global Sustainable Cities is a critical comparative assessment of the actions that major cities in the global North and South are taking to advance sustainability.

The past three decades have seen a remarkable rise of Afrikaners in business. In light of the government’s comprehensive black economic empowerment programme this has been one of the unexpected features of the South African economy.

Today many of these Afrikaner tycoons are competing internationally. With Koos Bekker at its helm, media group Naspers began dominating the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and was turned into a global consumer internet group. Johann Rupert strongly extended Richemont’s share internationally in the upper-end market of luxury goods, while Christo Wiese and Whitey Basson at Pepkor and Shoprite became Africa’s largest clothing and food retailers.

Fortunes describes how these and other business leaders, such as Jannie Mouton, Michiel le Roux, Douw Steyn, Roelof Botha, Hendrik du Toit and a number of commercial farmers, built their empires. It looks at their life and business philosophies and what makes them such successful entrepreneurs.

Recent years have also seen the sensational collapse of Steinhoff International, the furniture retailer led by Markus Jooste that destroyed some of these fortunes. While Jooste is the topic of one of the chapters, another looks at the philanthropic projects most of these tycoons are involved in.

Private Equity and Venture Capital in Europe: Markets, Techniques, and Deals, Third Edition introduces private equity, investments and venture capital markets while also presenting new information surrounding the core of private equity, including secondary markets, private debt, PPP within private equity, crowdfunding, venture philanthropy, impact investing, and more. Every chapter has been updated with new data, cases, examples, sections and chapters that illuminate elements unique to the European model. With the help of new pedagogical materials, this updated edition provides marketable insights about valuation and deal-making not available elsewhere. As the private equity world continues to undergo many challenges and opportunities, this book presents both fundamentals and advanced topics that will help readers stay informed on market evolution.

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing a radical change in both the economic and business paradigms that have ruled countries for decades. Emerging models are leading to a new world economic order predictably led by China and the United States. New forms of organization, new ways of working remotely, the strengthening of some industries to the detriment of others, and the supremacy of technology to be able to work are going to change the economies as we know them today. Emerging Business Models and the New World Economic Order offers strategies, economic policies, social, economic, and political trends that will affect organizations to increase their efficiency and labor productivity and change the world's business and financial structures. This book forecasts future business changes and prospective models, structural or not, for guiding the survival of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), multinationals, family firms, entrepreneurs, and NGOs in the post-COVID-19 era. Covering topics such as business model creation, global sustainable logistics 4.0, and social and solidarity economy, this text is essential for economists, entrepreneurs, managers, executives, family firms, SMEs, business professionals, policymakers, students, researchers, practitioners, and academicians.

'Clear-eyed and illuminating.' Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State and National Security Advisor 'A rich, superbly researched, balanced history of the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.' General David Petraeus, former Commander U.S. Central Command and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency 'Destined to be the best single volume on the Kingdom.' Ambassador Chas Freeman, former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Assistant Secretary of Defense 'Should be prescribed reading for a new generation of political leaders.' Sir Richard Dearlove, former Chief of H.M. Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge. Something extraordinary is happening in Saudi Arabia. A traditional, tribal society once known for its lack of tolerance is rapidly implementing significant economic and social reforms. An army of foreign consultants is rewriting the social contract, King Salman has cracked down hard on corruption, and his dynamic though inexperienced son, the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, is promoting a more tolerant Islam. But is all this a new vision for Saudi Arabia or merely a mirage likely to dissolve into Iranian-style revolution? David Rundell - one of America's foremost experts on Saudi Arabia - explains how the country has been stable for so long, why it is less so today, and what is most likely to happen in the future. The book is based on the author's close contacts and intimate knowledge of the country where he spent 15 years living and working as a diplomat. Vision or Mirage demystifies one of the most powerful, but least understood, states in the Middle East and is essential reading for anyone interested in the power dynamics and politics of the Arab World.

This book seeks to address critical issues and challenges in Africa and the emerging trends for the future. Authors from varied disciplines will examine and offer insight into what knowledge already exists in a specific topic area and what that may mean for the future of Africa. Despite several idealistic efforts towards a united Africa, the term remains a hypothetical concept symbolizing a desired federal state on the continent. This book plays an important role in shaping policies on the future of Africa through a deconstructive interrogation of present trends. It provides a valuable resource in varied fields of study and is highly relevant to the emerging contexts in Africa. The audience of this book includes students and policymakers, key players in Africa, political parties, trade unions, NGO's, and general audiences looking to examine and understand the future trends in Africa.

The crises emanating from the Global Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 Pandemic have underscored, the emergency role of the State and its smooth, seamless reactivation, for situations when private activity and markets are disrupted. In many countries, SOEs have been a crucial part in delivering on that effort as agents of the State. While SOEs are increasingly sought to play a role during emergency situations, evidence suggests that they misallocate capital and mismanage resources. This is indicative of the conflicts of interests in owning and regulating enterprises as well as between the commercial and non-commercial objectives of SOEs, crony capitalism, the private agenda of public officials, internal management of SOEs, the significant role played by state owned banks and financial institutions and the conflicts that arise in the State's primary role vs. its ownership of enterprises. The studies of eight countries from different regions undertaken for this book, provide answers to these key policy questions related to state capitalism. Generalizing from the results of multi-country studies to arrive at universally applicable predictions, prescriptions, and policy recommendations, is inherently difficult. Individual countries are quite different in their socio-economic, historical, political, and institutional circumstances. So are their experiences, as the eight country studies highlight, even as the book attempts to extrude, from available research, the principal common characteristics of, and practices followed by, successful SOEs independently of country context. Among other conditions, the two most important conclusions that can be drawn from the country studies are that competition and regulation rather than ownership per se is key to efficiency.

Tourism, one of the world's leading industries, has propelled countries into recovery from economic recession. As a multi-disciplinary, multi-sectoral, holistic, and systemic industry, tourism also uniquely placed to address the concerns of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While the relationships between tourism, sustainability, and sustainable development are the subjects of deep study, the direct positive effects of tourism on SDGs remain underdiscussed. The Handbook of Research on the Role of Tourism in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals is a collection of innovative research that explores sustainable practices within the tourism industry. While highlighting a broad range of topics including economic growth, education, and production patterns, this book is ideally designed for engineers, entrepreneurs, policymakers, executives, advocates, researchers, academicians, and students.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution revolves around cyber-physical systems and artificial intelligence. Little is certain about this new wave of innovation, which leaves industrialists and educators in the lurch without much guidance on adapting to this new digital landscape. Society must become more agile and place a higher emphasis on lifelong learning to master new technologies in order to stay ahead of the changes and overcome challenges to become more globally competitive. Promoting Inclusive Growth in the Fourth Industrial Revolution is a collection of innovative research that focuses on the role of formal education in preparing students for uncertain futures and for societies that are changing at great speed in terms of their abilities to drive job creation, economic growth, and prosperity for millions in the future. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics including economics, higher education, and safety and regulation, this book is ideally designed for teachers, managers, entrepreneurs, economists, policymakers, academicians, researchers, students, and professionals in the fields of human resources, organizational design, learning design, information technology, and e-learning.