Title: Namibia and Togo: former German colonies, revisited

Authors: Wilfred Isak April

Addresses: University of Namibia, Private Bag 13301, Windhoek, Namibia

Abstract: Togo which was administered as part of Afrique Occidentale Francaise gained independence 50 years ago, with hopes and aspirations that never came true. In contrast, reflecting on the past two decades of Namibian independence, Namibia (formerly known as South-West Africa) can with pride say that there is hope for its people and their economy. At Namibian independence, on the 21st March 1990, pessimists predicted failure and doom for this former German colony. Yet, stories, that Namibia would soon be like any other African country, have been proven wrong by Namibians. It is the aim of this paper to examine the changes which occurred in Namibia and Togo in terms of small business or entrepreneurial activities in the respective countries by looking at the agriculture, education, health and business sectors before and after independence. This article will look into some of the major findings from Professor Leo Paul Dana's writings, dealing with the strategic interventionist policy in Namibia (Dana, 1993), and comparative research in West Africa conducted by Dana (2007, 2010).

Keywords: German colonies; Germany; Ghana; Namibia; Leo Paul Dana; South-West Africa; Togo; Afrique Occidentale Francaise; Togolese Republic; French West Africa; AOF; France; national independence; entrepreneurial activities; agriculture; education; business; interventionist policies; strategic intervention; industry; health; small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; entrepreneurs; entrepreneurship; developing nations.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2012.048649

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2012 Vol.17 No.1, pp.17 - 26

Published online: 16 Aug 2014 *

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