Market and Nonmarket Strategies in Focus: How Entrepreneurs Tackling the Grand Challenge of Waste Management Navigate Institutional and Market Adversity in Ghana

Waste management remains a critical grand challenge in African countries. While entrepreneurship has been a viable strategy for addressing this challenge, it is fraught with constraints. This study investigates the strategies orchestrated by entrepreneurs to navigate adversity in Waste management and ensure the social and economic viability of their ventures. Based on 37 in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs and management personnel from 14 Waste management companies in Ghana, our findings reveal that entrepreneurs face formal, informal and market-related challenges that limit scalability and increase business attrition. In response, they deploy market, nonmarket social and nonmarket political strategies, with success largely dependent on their environmental and relational managerial competencies. Our paper contributes to the nexus of entrepreneurship and grand challenges by providing an integrative framework that captures the full journey of entrepreneurial efforts in tackling waste management challenges. Moreover, we offer practical implications for policymakers and entrepreneurs seeking to foster sustainable Waste management solutions in Africa.