Abstract

This paper critically examines the entrepreneurial potential of rural northern Ghana within the Community Capitals Framework (CCF) to establish which forms of capital are drivers and which are barriers, to entrepreneurial development in this region. The study adopts a qualitative research approach (n=72) to examine community capitals within four case study districts. Focus groups and semi-structured interviews were employed, with two levels of data gathered at the district and community levels. The findings reveal, that the natural, cultural, social and human capital of the research communities offers significant entrepreneurial potential for rural northern Ghana. However, in contrast, the regional built capital (or infrastructure) in the form of water, electricity and road network and conditions, coupled with the scarcity of financial capital, poses a major challenge to meaningful entrepreneurial development. The study serves as a reminder to organisations engaging in entrepreneurship as a means of development, to not focus too narrowly on people and the sum of potential opportunities but, rather, to critically analyse the rural environment. Specifically, the paper advocates the Community Capitals Framework, to establish the linkages between forms of capital and as a mechanism to identify drivers and barriers to entrepreneurship.