Message in a bottle: business education's impact on African BOP entrepreneurs

Developing human capital is a potentially powerful way to improve economies. The potential impact for those at the bottom of the economic pyramid (BOP) can be tremendous. This qualitative study of one general entrepreneurship curriculum aimed at BOP entrepreneurs, message in a bottle (McCormick and Gray, 2011b), suggests that marketing education can have the greatest impact on these entrepreneurs and their ability to sustain and grow their business. Further, the study addresses important research questions as to whether the curriculum achieves the stated goals of improving entrepreneur performance, even when delivered by someone other than a professional educator.