Journal of African Development

Entrepreneurship is generally considered one of the processes by which the economies of the regions create jobs, diversify livelihoods and enable value creation. But the number of registered enterprises does not always reflect the same degree of productive capacity, survival of the enterprise, or work or household well-being. The paper will analyse the development of MSME-based entrepreneurship in Madhya Pradesh by differentiating between entrepreneurial entry and enterprise development and socioeconomic outcomes. Utilising secondary administrative and government data, the research examines how registered MSMEs, enterprise structure and potential employment evolve over the course of 202021 to 202324. The data shows that the number of registered formal MSMEs has risen significantly, from 155,450 enterprises in 202021 to 457,499 in 202324, with potential employment rising to 2,277,308. Therefore, the number of enterprise registrations was increasing at a much higher rate than the possible employment. The employment-intensity indicator based on the derived factor decreased in 202324 to 4.98, based on the 202021 figure of about 8.42 potential employment opportunities per registered enterprise. This observation indicates that the growth in entrepreneurial entry has been accompanied by growing concentration in very small businesses and indicates that there is a necessity to draw the line between enterprise creation and enterprise scaling and productivity.

The analysis then adds Geographical Indications (GI) and the One District One Product (ODOP) framework to the analysis as possible differentiation mechanisms of the products and value addition and market growth. Individual Indian data suggest that GI recognition may be linked with increased agricultural exports, but the size and sustainability of this association vary according to the quality of institutions, infrastructure, market protection and product-specific features. Based on this, the paper does not conceptualise GI recognition as an automatic source of exports. Rather, GI and ODOP are framed as institutional processes that can enhance the shift from locally-based entrepreneurship to differentiated, market-focused and possibly export-driven firms. The article formulates an Entrepreneurship-MSME-GI/ODOP-Export-Socioeconomic Development (EMGESED) model, and sets up testable hypotheses that can be used in further analysis at the district level. The research adds to the literature on regional entrepreneurship in the sense that it combines entrepreneurial entry, enterprise structure, employment intensity, geographical differentiation and export orientation in a single analytical structure with Madhya Pradesh specificity.