In Mauritania – a country dominated bythe Sahara Desert and defined by tradition – players fromacross society are coming together to encourage innovationand set a new path for the country's development. Fromthe public sector to local and international businesses, aswell as the donor community, entrepreneurship is beginningto emerge as a crucial element in any strategy to addressMauritania's greatest challenges: socio-economicinclusion, poverty reduction, youth employment, economicdiversification and climate change. Since independence, thecountry has pursued a traditional state-driven model thathas failed to catalyze the necessary investments and privatesector-driven solutions to these problems. Due to structurallimitations of competition in the economy, thecountry's private sector is a concentration of largebusiness groups that dominate the trade, banking andprocurement markets. New entrants are crowded out, withformal micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) inMauritania numbering a mere 3,000. Informal self-employmentand micro-businesses in agriculture, livestock and commercecurrently make up the vast majority of jobs among thepoorest households in Mauritania. Smaller independent firmscontinue to encounter obstacles, discouraging the emergenceof local suppliers and directly impacting internationalinvestors who face higher operating costs. Poor quality ineducation and professional training reinforce thesechallenges, limiting job opportunities even in expandingsectors in the economy. A lack of expertise and practicalskills are compounded by complex labor regulations, makingit even harder for businesses to recruit and retain youngjob-seeking Mauritanians.
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