Drivers and Success Factors of Entrepreneurial Spin-Offs; A Case of Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIS) In Ghana

Abstract

In the past decade, Ghana has witnessed a significant development and expansion in the micro-finance sector and it has been identified that many of these new microfinance institutions have been setup by people who resigned their positions in the traditional banking sector to set them up (spin-offs). The overall objective of this study is to investigate the drivers and success factors of these individual spin-off companies within the Ghanaian microfinance sector. Spin-off ventures are seen as a vehicle for transferring knowledge, hence have attracted a wide range of studies, including academic/university spin-offs, corporate spin-offs, research-based spin-offs and entrepreneurial spin-offs. This research project is a case study of the phenomenon of spin-off businesses in the banking sector in Ghana, particularly microfinance institutions, their drivers and success factors with the view of proposing its replication in other sectors of the economy, while contributing to literature on the topic, especially from the perspective of a developing country. The study employed the qualitative method to seek a detailed and in-depth analysis to understand the issue by way of in-depth interviews. The purposive, non-probability sampling approach was used to select the microfinance spin-off firms, whereas the snowballing was used to identify more spin-offs within the sector. The case study research strategy was adopted to consider cases of microfinance institutions. Five respondents were interviewed, due to theoretical saturation and difficulty in finding any more spin-offs. Three major themes emerged from the study as drivers of spin-offs in the micro-finance sector. These are necessity, opportunity and need for self-actualization. Success factors themes yielded sub-themes such as personnel and organizational factors. The drivers of spin-offs and success factors were observed to provide successful spin-off firms. However, this joint effect is regulated by efficacy factors like industry experience, ambition, position and conditions in previous employment. It is recommended that the spin-off phenomenon should be encouraged to accelerate entrepreneurship and innovation in the Ghanaian economy. Results from this study have implications for research, education and policy.