1. Introduction: Innovation and Entrepreneurial Capacities as Facilitators of Sustainable Development in Sub-Saharan Africa’s Informal Economy

Existing works on entrepreneurship and innovation have explained a generic view of the subject within the informal economy. For example, it is noticeable that the drive for employment and the rising population drives many persons into Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) entrepreneurship. However, there remains a vast knowledge gap concerning institutionalization, motivational factors, and harnessing the innovative potentials of Africa's informal sector entrepreneurs and their supporting role in achieving a more sustainable African region. This book on Innovation, Entrepreneurship and the Informal Economy in Sub–Saharan Africa: A Sustainable Development Agenda focused on identifying patterns of domesticating entrepreneurship theories, harnessing papers that project novel insights about how innovation can occur and be managed for sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region. The book contains sixteen chapters that first capture the economic and social motivations that capture different forms and levels of impact of the entrepreneurial ecosystem on entrepreneurship and innovation in SSA. Second, a demystification of the varying relationships, consequences, and implications derivable from a well-knitted understanding of the interactions between innovation and entrepreneurship in SSA. This book project will benefit researchers, academics, policymakers, entrepreneurs in large firms and SMEs, and students interested in understanding the interconnected roles of innovation and entrepreneurship in improving Africa's informal economy and achieving sustainable development across the region's informal markets.