The Driving Forces Promoting Entrepreneurial Activity In MENA(Middle East And North Africa) Region Based On The 2016 GEI Data

Factors affecting entrepreneurial activity are a significant aspect of interest in entrepreneurship research nowadays,given the focus on entrepreneurial development worldwide.Enabling start-ups and boosting entrepreneurship is seen as a strategic path towards economic growth and job creation,which is especially topical for the MENA states at present,under the conditions of unprecedented demographic increase of young population and a need to host the larger numbers of working-age youths.Hence,this quantitative study targeted the analysis of factors producing an impact on entrepreneurial activity in the MENA region based on the GEI indicators thereof-pillars for entrepreneurial attitudes,abilities,and aspirations.By means of conducting descriptive and regression analyses with the derived data on the MENA states' entrepreneurial indicators from GEI 2016,the researcher found a strong associated impact of opportunity perception,cultural support,networking,opportunity start-up,human capital,product innovation,high growth,and risk capital on the MENA region's quality and intensity of entrepreneurial activity.Among the three domains,entrepreneurial aspirations were found to produce the strong impact on shaping the entrepreneurial landscape in the region,while abilities played the greater role in the formation of individuals GEI scores.