Round Table 1: Private Enterprise in the Development Process

The ambivalence felt by many African intellectuals and policymakers toward the private enterprise system (or their conception of that system) came to the fore immediately during the first round table discussion. Although some participants argued that private enterprise could and should be the driving force behind economic growth on the continent, others felt that private enterprise, in accord with African traditions, should only complement state development planning and initiatives. This latter idea—that private enterprise might somehow be "un-African"—popped up again and again throughout the conference.