CENTRE FOR AFRICAN RESEARCH ON ENTERPRISE & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (CAREED)
CAREED is a unique centre of excellence within Scotland which focuses on five key areas of interests reflecting the areas of research interests of academic namely: commodities and exporting; logistics and supply chain management; enterprise and entrepreneurship (including gender enterprise); governance and ethics; and microfinance and social business. The Centre intends to progress this conversation as the we expand and develop.
Our Vision
Our vision is to contribute to the debate leading to the promotion and realisation of Africa’s expanding consumer market, vast natural resources, and the growing young force which focuses on positioning the continent for robust economic growth that promises big returns on investment. We intend to shift the paradigm from the perspective of aid dependent to that of investment, trade and development.
CAREED vision is based on two main fulcra:
- First, to reflect the current economic transformation being experienced by a growing number of African economies (according to organisations such as Africa Development Bank (ADB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Worlds Bank). In that context, CAREED is well placed to conduct high level and applied research in the areas of enterprise and economic development to contribute to that process.
- Second, we have an unrivalled group of academic staff and PhD students who are either from African continent or are studying various aspects of African economic development within the School of Business and Creative industries (BCI).
CAREED & UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Our activities such as Projects, academic conferences and book and journal publications reflect key tenets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. For example, our Innovate UK funded Agro-ponic project in Rwanda and Agri-tech project in Kenya are targeted to achieve the requirements of the following:
SDG 1 - No poverty
CAREED's projects are targeted at ensuring poverty is eradicated in the communities where we operate, example are our projects in Rwanda and Kenya and Uganda.
SDG 2 - Zero hunger
CAREED's Agro-ponic and Agri-tech projects are focused on bringing end to hunger, and to achieve food security and improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. We achieve this with our partnerships with Coffee Conscience Ltd. and Just Trading Scotland. Both of these organisations based in the Scotland but trading with Africa.
SDG 3 - Good health and well-being
CAREED promotes well-being to ensure that people stay healthy so they can work and support themselves and their families. This is being achieved by partnering with NjordFrey in Rwanda.
SDG 4 - Quality education
CAREED is focused on ensuring inclusive and equitable quality research with outputs that promote lifelong impacts on African economy, Policy making, and the society.
SDG 5 - Gender equality
CAREED's projects strive make our programmes gender-equitable from the planning stage through to implementation. Our programmes strive to empower women, girls and youths.
SDG 8 - Decent work and economic growth
CAREED is committed to promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work associated with our projects in those countries we have presence in Africa.
SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
SDG 9 is concerned with building resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation. CAREED is meeting this goal through our Innovate UK funded innovations in Agri-tech/agro-ponic projects in Rwanda, Kenya, with similar project in Nigeria.
SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and strong institutions
SDG 16 is concerned with promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. CAREED addresses this goal at our conferences, particularly through the corporate governance , ethics, microfinance and social enterprise sessions.
SDG 17 - Partnerships for the goals
CAREED aims to strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for African sustainable development.
CONFERENCES & EVENTS
CAREED has held many conferences over the last few years on the broad theme of enterprise and economic development in Africa. These conferences relate to African economic development: Commodities and Trade; African Enterprise; Logistics and Supply Chain: and Governance, Microfinance, and HR.
CAREED conferences directly contributes to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Kenyan Delegation at CAREED conference
Former High Commissioner of Cameroon to UK, Berhanu Ekaney meets Yousaf Hamza, Scottish MSP
Africa Debate - CAREED conference
CAREED conference prize-giving ceremony
CAREED conference prize-giving ceremony
CAREED conference dinner
PREVIOUS CAREED CONFERENCES
CAREED has hosted a number of international conferences since its inception in 2014. Below are the names and dates of these conferences.
CAREED 5th Annual Conference 2020
Virtual Conference – Wednesday 9th December 2020
Theme: Enterprise and Economic Development in Africa: The way Forward
CAREED 4th Annual Conference 2019
Thursday Wednesday 29th – Friday 31st May 2019
Theme: Enterprise and Economic Development in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities
We invited abstracts and papers from a wide range of topics relevant to enterprise and economic devolvement in Africa:
- Business and Enterprise
- Commodities and Trade (including Global Value Chains)
- Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility
- Gender and Enterprise
- Influence of Culture and Tradition on Economic Development
- International Exporting
- Logistics and Supply Chain Management
- Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs)
- Sustainability Issues and Training
- Education and Training
Conceptual papers are invited. We also encourage doctoral students and early career researchers to submit short papers and/or research ideas for poster presentations. Full papers were published in the Conference Proceedings after the conference.
ACADEMIC WRITING RETREAT
This year the conference was preceded by an optional 2.5 day residential writing retreat which was held in a beautiful area of Scotland. Places were limited on the retreat. The writing retreat took place between 26-28th August.
CAREED 3rd Annual Conference 2018
Thursday 31st May and Friday 1st June 2018
Theme: Transforming Barriers to Effective Economic Development in Africa into Enablers
We invited abstracts and papers from a wide range of topics relevant to enterprise and economic devolvement in Africa:
- Business and Enterprise
- Commodities and Trade (including Global Value Chains)
- Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility
- Gender and Enterprise
- Influence of Culture and Tradition on Economic Development
- International Exporting
- Logistics and Supply Chain Management
- Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs)
- Sustainability Issues and Training
- Education and Training
Conceptual papers are invited. We also encourage doctoral students and early career researchers to submit short papers and/or research ideas for poster presentations. Full papers were published in the Conference Proceedings after the conference.
CAREED 2nd Annual Conference 2017
Thursday 6th April and Friday 7th April 2017
Theme: Nurturing Entrepreneurship and Economic Development in Africa
CAREED 1st Annual Conference 2015
Thursday 12th and Friday 13th November 2015
Theme: African Enterprise and Economic Development: A proud History, A Promising Future
CAREED UPDATES
For a complete overview of research activities involving UWS staff, please also refer to our research portal.
UWS RESEARCH PORTAL
Recent Research Bids
- The Innovate UK Funding
With this Award, CAREED researchers are seeking to improve the livelihoods and nutrition in Rwanda through a ground-breaking new aquaponics research project. They have embarked on the unique pilot project that is targeting a 50 per cent increase in productivity in the sector. In fact, they think it could help as many as 80,000 farmers across 2,000 farms to reduce food shortages within 10 years. UWS's CAREED and social enterprise collaborators NjordFrey, who are based in Rwanda, were recently awarded a grant of £283,774 by the Department for International Development (DFID) / Innovate-UK for the 18-month feasibility study.
MORE ON THE IMPROVING LIVELIHOODS AND NUTRITION IN RWANDA PROJECT
- Agri-tech Project
KTP between UWS CAREED and Farmtrack Consulting Ltd and Mount Kenya University: The main activity of this Innovate UK funded project is the development and commercialisation of pest control products. - Female Enterprise Project
Successful joint bid with UWS School of Computing, Engineering & Physical Sciences for project on upgrading enterprise skills of female handicraft entrepreneurs in Uganda. Funding by The Royal Academy of Engineering. - World Bank Funded Training
Delegates from Kenya were in Scotland for two weeks in February 2018 and undertook CPD training courses in environmental topics. The course was funded by the World Bank and the delegates came from the Kenyan Ministry of Housing, Transport, Environment and Urban Infrastructure. Professor John Struthers in conjunction with the School of Science and Sport and external agents, Diaspora Community Support Services welcomed a delegation of government officials from Kenya.
Recent publications
BOOKS
- Adewole, A. and Struthers J. J. (2018), Logistics and Global Value Chains in Africa: The Impact on Trade and Development, Palgrave Macmillan: Palgrave Studies of Sustainable Business in Africa Series
- Harrison, C. (2016), Leadership Theory and Research: A critical Approach to New and Existing Paradigms; Palgrave Macmillan, London
BOOK CHAPTERS
- Adewole, A. and Struthers, J. J. (2019), Trade and Economic Development in Africa: The Interaction between Logistics and Global Value Chains; in Logistics and Global Value Chains in Africa: The Impact on Trade and Development, edited by Adewole, A. and Struthers, J. J. Palgrave Studies of Sustainable Business in Africa, Palgrave McMillan, UK
- Struthers, J. J. (2019), Commodity Price Volatility: Causes, Policy Options and Prospects for African Economies; in Logistics and Global Value Chains in Africa: The Impact on Trade and Development, edited by Adewole, A. and Struthers, J. J., Palgrave Studies of Sustainable Business in Africa, Palgrave McMillan, UK
- Adewole, A. (2019), Logistics and Supply Chain Infrastructure Development in Africa; in Logistics and Global Value Chains in Africa: The Impact on Trade and Development, edited by Adewole, A. and Struthers, J. J., Palgrave Studies of Sustainable Business in Africa, Palgrave McMillan, UK
- Burl, D. (2019), Freight Transport Technology: A Cost-Effective/Time-Efficient Solution to Sub-Saharan Africa’s Logistics Problems; in Logistics and Global Value Chains in Africa: The Impact on Trade and Development, edited by Adewole, A. and Struthers, J. J., Palgrave Studies of Sustainable Business in Africa, Palgrave McMillan, UK
- Gayi, S. K. and Banini, J. K. (2019), Does Africa Have What it takes to Upgrade in Global Value Chains; in Logistics and Global Value Chains in Africa: The Impact on Trade and Development, edited by Adewole, A. and Struthers, J. J., Palgrave Studies of Sustainable Business in Africa, Palgrave McMillan, UK
- Keane, J. (2019), Logistics and Value Chain Development: Cost and Capability Considerations; in Logistics and Global Value Chains in Africa: The Impact on Trade and Development, edited by Adewole, A. and Struthers, J. J., Palgrave Studies of Sustainable Business in Africa, Palgrave McMillan, UK
- Struthers, J. J. (2017), Commodity price volatility: an evolving principal-agent problem; in Future Fragmentation Processes: Effectively Engaging with the Ascendancy of Global Value Chains, ed by Keane, J. and Baimbill-Johnson, R., Commonwealth Secretariat, London
- Nziku, D. (2017), co-author of book chapter in book on Female Entrepreneurship, published by Edward Elgar, London
JOURNALS & NEWSLETTERS
- Nziku, D. M. and Henry, C. (2020), Policies for Supporting Women Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries: The case of Tanzania; Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy. 10.(1) pp. 38-58
- Adewole A and Agnes G (2020), COVID-19: Counting the costs of the Pandemic on African Economies; Africa Group Newsletter, Addleshaw Goddard; 19 May 2020; United Kingdom
- Adewole A (2020) Coronavirus Outbreak and the Impact on African Economy, Scroll Reports, 25 March 2020; Nigeria
- Adewole A (2020) Nigerian Education in Perspective: Problems and Prospects; Scroll Reports, 24 May 2020; Nigeria
WORK IN PROGRESS
- Nziku, D. M. and Struthers, J.J. (2018), Female entrepreneurship in Africa: strength of weak ties in mitigating principal-agent problems, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-03-2017-0115 (forthcoming in Special Issue on Entrepreneurship in Africa)
- Adewole, A. (2020), Entrepreneurial Supply Chain Logistics in Africa: A Practical Approach; Palgrave Studies of Sustainable Business in Africa, Palgrave McMillan, UK (Work-in-Progress)
- Harrison, C., Burnard, K. and Paul, S., (2018), Entrepreneurial leadership in a developing country: skill based analysis, (forthcoming in Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development)
Recent & Current Doctoral Students' Research Topics
CURRENT RESEARCH TOPICS
- Olamide Olusegun
-Public Sector Procurement and Documentation in Nigeria - Ayodele Adetuyi
-National Policy and Corporate Sector Development: A study of Agriculture Development in Western Nigeria - Inyang Nyongessien
-Sustainable and Green Supply Chain for Competitiveness in the Nigerian Hospitality Industry - Anietie Matthews
-Determinants of Port-Centric Logistics Infrastructure Development: A study of Nigerian Ports Osa - Victor Ogunmu
-An Evaluation of the Information Sharing Practices for Supply Chain Traceability in the Nigerian Food and Beverage Processing Sector - Kingsley Nnamdi Emeana
-Coffee Price Volatility hedging using a single-step model
RECENTLY COMPLETED DOCTORAL RESEARCH PROGRAMMES
- Beatrice Isah Dara
-Can Trade Openness Improve the Human Development Index of the lowest Sub-Saharan African Countries? - Azeez Abiola Oyedele
-Price Discovery in the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX): The Role of Warehouse Receipts - Kolade Abimbola Nasir
-Energy Infrastructure Financing in Developing Countries and Project Finance in the Nigerian Energy Sector - Tope Falade
-Implementing Industrial Ecology in the Nigerian Free Trade Zone
Collaborations & Networks
We collaborate with both academic and non-academic institutions across the world. A few of CAREED collaborations are with the following:
- NjordFrey Consulting – A Rwandan Registered Company. CAREED is currently working with NjordFrey on Agroponic project to produce fish and vegetables to improve nutrition of the population and provide employment
- Farmtrack Consulting Ltd – Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) on production and commercialisation of pesticides to enhance production, sales and export of Mangoes in Kenya
- Innovate UK – Gov.UK
- Department for International Development (DFiD), United Kingdom
- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
- Development Studies Association (DSA)
- Scotland Study Group, University of Strathclyde
- The Ethiopian High Commission, London United Kingdom
- Cameroon High Commission, London United Kingdom
- Africa Forum Scotland - Next Step Initiative – (NSI)
- Heart for the City of Glasgow (Rev. Dr Lukas Njenga)
- Just Trading Scotland (Professor John Riches)
- Challenges Worldwide (Mr Neil Fleming)
- Coffee Conscience Ltd., Scotland (Mr Billy Miller)
- Mount Kenya University, Kenya
- University of Glasgow, Scotland UK
- Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland UK
- St Andrew’s University, St Andrew’s UK
CAREED MEMBERSHIP
For a complete overview of research activities involing UWS staff, please also refer to our research portal.
UWS RESEARCH PORTAL
Directorate
Prof John Struthers
Director of CAREED
Email: John.Struthers@uws.ac.uk
Dr Adebisi Adewole
Deputy Director (Membership, Finance, Media and Partnerships)
Email: Adebisi.Adewole@uws.ac.uk
Dr Dina Nziku
Deputy Director (Conference Organising and Management)
Email: Dina.Nziku@uws.ac.uk
Fellows
Professor Jacinta Nwachukwu
Lancashire School of Business and Enterprise , University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK
Dr Samuel Gayi
Retired UNCTAD Director, Special Unit Commodities – United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
Email: Sammy.gayi@gmail.com
Dr Alice Nicole Sindzingre
National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) France
Email: asindzingre@orange.fr
UWS Staff Members
Professor Heather Tarbert
Heather.Tarbert@uws.ac.uk
Dr Ahmed Beloucif
Ahmed.Beloucif@uws.ac.uk
Dr David Burl
David.Burl@uws.ac.uk
Mbusiro Chacha
Mbusiro.chacha@uws.ac.uk
Dr Toyin Coker
Toyin.Coker@uws.ac.uk
Dr Stephen Collins
Stephen.Collins@uws.ac.uk
Dr Firdu Gemech
Firdu.Gemech@uws.ac.uk
Dr Christian Harrison
Christain.Harrison@uws.ac.uk
Dr Abeer Hassan
Abeer.Hassan@uws.ac.uk
Dr Allan Moore
Allan.Moore@uws.ac.uk
Ahmad Qureshi
Ahmad.Qureshi@uws.ac.uk
UWS PhD Candidate Members
Kingsley N. Emeana
Kingsley.NnamdiEmeana@uws.ac.uk
Olamide Olusegun
Olamide.olusegun@uws.ac.uk
Charlotte Eba
BlaJoseeCharlotte.Eba@uws.ac.uk
Amina Abdessalam
Amina.abdessalam@uws.ac.uk
Ayodele Adetuyi
Ayodele.Adetuyi@uws.ac.uk
Imene El Azzaoui
Imene.elazzaoui@uws.ac.uk
Adefunke Emeagwali
Adefunke.Emeagwali@uws.ac.uk
Inyang Nyongessien
Inyang.nyongessien@uws.ac.uk
Abdul-Hakeem Raji
Abdulhakeem.raji@uws.ac.uk
Anietie Matthew
B00140335@studentmail.uws.ac.uk
Mariam Wokocha
B00360788@studentmail.uws.ac.uk
Associate Members
Dr Isaac Amaoko
Liverpool John More University
I.O.Amoako@ljmu.ac.uk
Dr Thandi Mtetwa
Kingsley Obinna Omeihe
Edinburgh Napier University
Charlotte Eba
BlaJoseeCharlotte.Eba@uws.ac.uk
Henry Eze
Strathclyde University
Willie Mambwe
University of the West of Scotland
Professor John Adams
British University of Egypt
Lucas Njenga
lukas@heartforthecity.co.uk
Olufunke Owoyokun
B00397825@studentmail.uws.ac.uk
Abdulmonem Esaudi
Abdulmonem.Esaudi@uws.ac.uk
Kingsley N. Emeana
Kingsley.NnamdiEmeana@uws.ac.uk
Overseas Associate Members
Professor Aniebiet Inyang Ntui
ntuinju@unical.edu.ng
Phelisa Njeru
Mount Kenyan University
pnjeru@mku.ac.ke
Doris Mavuta
Mount Kenyan University
dmavuta@mku.ac.ke
Michael Oluwasogo Olatunbosun
Splash FM Nigeria
Miketunbosu74@gmail.com
Oluwaseun Akinola
Splash FM Nigeria
sammyesheray@gmail.com
Ben Ukpe Ekanikpong
Ekan.ben@elkanisgroup.com
CAREED MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS
Centre for African Research on Enterprise and Economic Development (CAREED) is a structured research unit within UWS's School of Business and Creative Studies. CAREED was established with purpose of advancing scholarly activities primarily through collaborative research, research training, research dissemination and project management. It intends to foster critical thinking and analytical skills though seminar series and workshops that help to expand knowledge and understanding of members chosen fields.
In this climate of uncertainty and competing demands, the benefits of research centre such CAREED must be set out more explicitly than ever. We believe that academic research drives prosperity, and as a member of the centre, you will be part of a network of professionals with good solid foundation of African experience and research expertise focused on commodities and exporting, logistics and supply chain management, the global value chains debate, governance, ethics and corporate social responsibility, microfinance, social enterprise, and economic development.
You will have the opportunity to gain knowledge and share your expertise and experience through our seminar, workshops, conferences and other events. In addition, members can publish their articles with our working paper series and will have access to our high-quality research done by our expertise in different fields.
The centre provides a mutually supportive environment and structure in which PhD student researchers are nurtured and supported. This is in addition to the support given for attending and presenting in academic conferences and workshops and seminars, as well as opportunities to engage in teaching. In the long run possibly internship opportunities in companies and public sector organisation with an interest in Africa.
As a member of CAREED, you will also benefit from the following opportunities offered by the Centre:
- Facilitating and nurturing partnerships and collaborations
- Securing research resources and providing research support
- Establishing a sense of community and providing continued learning
- Managing organisational flexibility
- Competing for bids and raising funds for research that focus on societal problems
All the CAREED members will be entitled to a special discount fees for writing retreats organised during the time of our conferences.
CAREED MEMBERSHIP FORM
Download the CAREED Associate Membership form here.
Membership FormCONTACT US
Email: careed@uws.ac.uk
School of Business & Creative Industries
University of the West of Scotland
Paisley
Scotland
PA1 2BE
Last updated: 07/11/2023