非洲新经济哲学：渴求“考虑社会型”企业家，而非闪闪发光的项目｜双语

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疫情是压力，我们可以看到，有的企业濒临破产，有的企业摇摇欲坠；但同时疫情也可能是动力，有的企业在危机中变换模式，重整旗鼓，找到了未来的发展方向。

疫情对于非洲来说并不陌生，甚至还有包括贫困、粮食短缺、政局动荡、人口增长过快、医疗条件匮乏等在内的诸多危机日夜侵扰着这片古老的大陆。在这其中，非洲企业家们找到了怎样的方法在这样的困局之中存活，成长，甚至推动整个社会的发展？

他山之石，可以攻玉。同为新兴经济体的非洲，也许可以给我们带来一些启发，让我们去思考，什么是企业在面临巨大外部困局和生存压力时候的出路，什么又是新兴经济体中价值创造和企业发展的新方向？
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议题编辑：姚森学术顾问：姜嬿
来源：斯坦福社会创新评论作者：Kenneth Amaeshi（@kenamaeshi）是爱丁堡大学可持续商业项目的负责人，战略与国际商务副教授，分别是拉各斯商学院和克兰菲尔德管理学院的访问学者。他与他人合著了《斯坦福大学社会创新评论》中的《将可持续发展战略转化为实践》和《克服新兴市场的腐败》等文章译者：汪伟楠

企业家、创业者作为一种应对气候变化、贫困和疾病等当代全球挑战的“方法”，越来越受到人们的关注。这种关于企业家的观念在非洲也很盛行。早在2011年，许多书籍和文章就标榜非洲正在成为世界经济的主要参与者。四年后，非洲大陆的人均GDP显著增长，但增长的受益者主要是精英和外国投资者。近期大量基础设施投资而非开辟新增长途径的增长方式，只是强化了非洲对于自然资源出口的长期依赖。正如联合国2014年人类发展报告中所指出的那样，大多数非洲人的境况几乎没有改善，他们仍然生活在极端贫困中。

不过，在了解是什么使非洲停滞不前方面，我们已经取得了进展。通过对非洲商业领袖和企业家的研究，我们识别出了非洲企业家(或者说企业家思维模式)的三种主要类型：生存主义型企业家、成功驱动型企业家和考虑社会型企业家。

01生存主义型企业家

生存主义型企业家存在于大多数非洲国家，他们主要受生存本能的驱使，规避由薄弱的制度、糟糕的基础设施、欠发达的市场和糟糕的治理带来的威胁和挑战(如贫困、疾病、失业和腐败)。这些企业家通常是被动、短视和无助的。他们每天都在评估自己的生存状况，而汇率波动、大宗商品价格下跌或政府政策变化等最轻微的冲击都能让他们紧张。他们常常不具备超越自身和自身需要去思考的能力。他们责怪他人，并认为自己是这个失败的社会经济体系下的受害者。

02成功驱动型企业家

相对的，成功驱动型企业家创造性地利用了所谓的“失败的社会经济体系”所创造的机会。他们通常具有创新精神，可以链接并利用政府和自然资源。他们运用权力，利用体制谋取私利。他们由自身利益和创造财富的愿望驱动，是文学著作及欠发达经济体中典型的企业家。他们常常专注于自身的成功。大多数情况下，他们只尽法律要求他们的、最低限度的责任。同时，在面对社会问题和挑战时，他们的态度常常犹疑不定；他们认为，应对社会问题和挑战是政府和非政府组织的责任（公平地说，或许他们可以这么认为）。

03考虑社会型企业家

第三种类型的企业家具有社会意识。他们不仅由成功驱动，还受影响力与目的驱动。他们通过自己的企业积极应对社会的弊病和挑战。与成功驱动型企业家一样，他们富有创造力和想象力。然而，与前者不同的是，他们是受开明的利己主义所驱使。他们能识别出周遭的社会挑战和风险，但从不因此却步。相反，他们把这些挑战和风险视为机遇。凭这一点，人们可以说，这类企业家是乐观和勇敢的，因为他们能在其他人看到风险和挫折的地方看到机会。关于自身，他们有一个积极的想象，并且，为了非洲出现他们心中希望看到的变化，他们努力成为那个带来改变的人。他们有长远的目标和耐心。

几十年来，世界银行和其他机构一直认为，对基础设施的重大投资将推动经济发展，推动进步。而现在我们知道，尽管直接投资很重要；但其重要性可能还比不上那些以目标为导向的、对自己所处的环境有社会意识的、有影响力的企业家。如果再结合企业家精神在非洲的挑战来考虑，那么对非洲而言，前述那些（具有社会意识的）企业家就更是当下急需的了。可惜的是，这样的人并不多。

非洲人不仅需要增长的结构性基础，还需要有动力去从事那些艰难的、有决心的创业活动。数十年的殖民统治，以及随后到来的家长式政府和善意的外国援助，让太多的非洲人被动地等待别人为他们带来发展，或是从事生存主义的和以自我为中心的创业活动。

非洲很难说是一个特例。西方人倾向于认为，为了摆脱贫困，人们会自然地追求经济发展(生存主义企业家精神将这一点概括为:“需求是创造之母”)。但是，人们能够做出这些努力，往往需要来自外部压力的推动。例如，工业化首先在西欧出现，其中一个原因或许是：西欧这些相对较小的国家之间存在持续的竞争，一个国家要想取得军事上的优势地位，就只有靠发展，唯有发展能为其提供基础。同样，只有当西方战舰带着先进技术抵达日本之后，日本才开始有闯劲地投资商业。与那些相对自满、沾沾自喜的国家中的精英相比，那些对民族发明有渴望的精英们更能接纳良善的商业制度。

毫无疑问，企业家对社会进步而言至关重要。然而，非洲必须按照非洲大陆大部分地区共有的、贴合地域和传统的观念来发展。非洲需要那些能够与“非洲资本主义”原则产生关联的企业家。

非洲资本主义，是由尼日利亚银行家、企业家Tony Elumelu为非洲重申的一种新的经济哲学。根据Elumelu的说法，非洲资本主义“描述了将私人投资转化为社会财富的过程”。除作为增长基础的“结构”而外，企业家还需要“文化”。他们对于自身发展在智识与实践层面的主导性越强，就越有动力去承担企业家精神中所蕴含的风险。

我们现在生活在一个远比过去和平的世界 (暂且不管那些头条新闻)，但仍然有一些积极的方式来激励非洲人前进。对这一努力方向而言很重要的是：要以与当地的文化和价值观产生共鸣的方式来规划社会经济发展，其中就包括对于进步与繁荣、平等与包容、和平与和谐、地域与归属这些方面的感知。这些价值观是非洲资本主义的核心。

但并不是说西方投资者应该远离非洲，也不是说所有的慈善事业都必须是本土的。非洲仍然需要大量的外部资本和专业技术。然而，我们知道，只有当大批有影响力的企业家和企业蓬勃发展，而非仅有更大而酷炫的项目出现时，才是非洲真正崛起的时刻。

大量的研究证据表明，追求集体利益、以创造经济和社会财富为己任的企业家比其他类型的企业家拥有更好的表现。这正是非洲资本主义作为一种新的非洲经济哲学发挥作用的地方，也是为什么非洲需要具有社会意识的企业家来应对许多社会经济挑战的原因。

英文对照阅读

There is a growing interest in entrepreneurs as the solution to contemporary global challenges—climate change, poverty, and disease. This view of entrepreneurs is also awash in Africa. Back in 2011, a number of books and articles proclaimed that Africa was emerging as a major player in the world economy. Four years later, the continent’s GDP per capita has increased significantly, but the gains have gone largely to elites and foreign investors. Much of the recent investment in infrastructure, rather than opening new avenues of growth, merely reinforces Africa’s longstanding reliance on exporting natural resources. And as the United Nation’s 2014 Human Development Report indicates, most Africans have seen little improvement and continue to live in harsh poverty.

We have, however, made progress in understanding what has held Africa back. Through our study of business leaders and entrepreneurs in Africa, we have identified three main classes of entrepreneurs (or entrepreneurial mindsets) in Africa: the survivalist entrepreneur, the success-driven entrepreneur, and the society-minded entrepreneur.

Survivalist entrepreneurs in most African countries are mainly driven by survival instincts to avoid threats and challenges (such as poverty, diseases, unemployment, and corruption) orchestrated by weak institutions, poor infrastructure, under-developed markets, and bad governance. These entrepreneurs are often reactive, short-term-oriented, and helpless. They measure their survival on a daily basis, and the slightest shock—such as a fluctuation in exchange rates, drop in commodity prices, or change in government policies—can send them packing. They are often unable to think beyond themselves and their needs. They blame others and see themselves as victims of a failed socio-economic system.

Conversely, success-driven entrepreneurs creatively exploit the opportunities created by the so-called failed socio-economic systems. They are usually innovative and may have access to governments and natural resources. They wield power and exploit the system for private gains. They are the quintessential entrepreneurs of the literature and developed economies that are driven by self-interests and wealth creation. They are often focused on their success. Most of the time, they do the minimum required by law, and are usually ambivalent toward societal problems and challenges, which they (perhaps fairly) see as the responsibilities of governments and NGOs.

The third type of entrepreneur, society-minded, is not only success-driven, but also impactful and purpose-driven. They seek to positively address the ills and challenges of society through their enterprises. Like success-driven entrepreneurs, they are innovative and imaginative. However, unlike the former, they are driven by enlightened self-interest. They recognize the societal challenges and risks around them, but are never deterred by them. Instead, they see them as opportunities. In that regard, one can argue that they are optimistic and courageous, because they can see opportunities where others see risks and frustrations. They have a positive image of themselves and try to be the change they want to see in Africa. They are long-term-oriented and patient.

For decades, the World Bank and other institutions believed that major investments in infrastructure would jumpstart the economy and drive progress. Now we know that although direct investments are important, they may not be as important as impactful entrepreneurs who are purpose-driven and socially aware of their environments. These are the entrepreneurs Africa needs right now, given the challenges of entrepreneurship in Africa. Unfortunately, there aren’t many of them.

Africans need not just the structural foundations of growth, but also the motivation to do the hard work of purposeful entrepreneurship. Decades of colonial rule, followed by paternalistic governments and well-meaning foreign assistance, have left too many Africans passively waiting for others to bring about development for them or to engage in survivalist and self-centred entrepreneurship.

And Africa is hardly such a special case. Westerners tend to assume that people naturally pursue economic development to escape poverty (survivalist entrepreneurship epitomizes this in saying: “Necessity is the mother of inventions”). But external pressure often plays a role in jumpstarting these efforts. One reason industrialization took off first in Western Europe, for example, was because there was ongoing competition among relatively small countries for military pre-eminence that only development could fund. Japan likewise began to invest aggressively in commerce only after Western warships arrived with advanced technology. Elites eager to build up the nation were more likely to allow good commercial institutions than their counterparts in more complacent countries.

No doubt entrepreneurs are critical to social progress. However, Africa must develop according to notions of place and heritage that are common to much of the continent, and it needs entrepreneurs who can relate to the tenets of Africapitalism—a new economic philosophy for Africa championed by Nigerian banker and entrepreneur Tony Elumelu. 

According to Elumelu, Africapitalism “describes the process of transforming private investment into social wealth.” Entrepreneurs need cultural, as well as structural, foundations for growth. The more they can take intellectual and practical ownership of their development, the more they’ll be motivated to accept the risks of entrepreneurship.

We live in a much more peaceful world now (despite the headlines), but there are positive ways to motivate Africans forward. Important to this effort will be framing socio-economic development in terms that resonate with local cultures and values, including a sense of progress and prosperity, parity and inclusion, peace and harmony, and place and belongingness. These values are core to Africapitalism.

That’s not to say that Western investors should stay away from Africa or that all philanthropy must be homegrown. Africa still needs outside capital and expertise, and lots of it. Yet we’ll know that Africa is truly rising not when bigger, glitzy projects arrive, but when there is a flowering of a multitude of impactful entrepreneurs and enterprises. 

There is abundant research evidence suggesting that entrepreneurs who pursue collective interests to create economic and social wealth perform better than other types of entrepreneurs. This is where Africapitalism comes in as a new economic philosophy for Africa and why Africa needs society-minded entrepreneurs to address her many socio-economic challenges.

学术顾问-姜嬿，南京大学商学院工商管理系副教授，香港中文大学管理学博士。研究领域为组织行为学与企业社会创新。主持国家自然科学基金课题两项，目前正在作为主持人负责“企业社会创新”的国家自科课题的研究项目。担任国际期刊Journal of Organizational Behavior, Management and Organization Review, Leadership Quarterly, Asia Pacific Journal of Management (APJM)等期刊评审委员，《南大商学评论》执行编辑。

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