Entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa operates within a complex interplay of institutional voids, resource scarcity, and entrenched socio-economic structures. This context creates unique challenges for business development, where individual agency is often constrained by systemic factors. This study aimed to develop and test a participatory action research framework designed to enhance entrepreneurial agency within structural constraints. Its objective was to co-create practical business development strategies with local entrepreneurs. An iterative action research cycle was employed, involving 18 small and medium enterprise owners over multiple phases of diagnosis, planning, intervention, and evaluation. Data were collected through participatory workshops, reflective journals, and in-depth interviews, and analysed using thematic analysis. A dominant theme was the strategic repurposing of social kinship networks to circumvent formal institutional gaps. Specifically, approximately 70% of participants successfully leveraged these networks for critical resource mobilisation, leading to measurable improvements in supply chain resilience. The research demonstrates that fostering reflexive entrepreneurial practices can mediate structural limitations. The co-created framework provides a viable model for business development support in similar constrained environments. Business support programmes should integrate mechanisms for structured peer learning and network facilitation. Policymakers are advised to recognise and formally engage with indigenous entrepreneurial ecosystems. action research, entrepreneurial agency, structural constraints, business development, SMEs, sub-Saharan Africa This paper presents a novel participatory framework that synthesises structuration theory with practical business mentoring, offering a replicable methodology for enhancing enterprise agency within constrained economies.
Mamba et al. (Wed,) studied this question.