Agro-Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies: A Review and Future Research Agenda

Abstract

Agro-entrepreneurship has emerged as a critical catalyst for sustainable economic transformation in emerging economies, addressing global challenges of food security, rural poverty, and climate change. This comprehensive review synthesizes 50+ peer-reviewed studies published between 2014-2025, examining the current state of agricultural entrepreneurship, technological innovations, financing mechanisms, policy frameworks, and barriers to scalability. A systematic bibliometric analysis reveals that research activity has increased by 656% since 2014, with particular focus on innovation ecosystems (22% of literature), supply chain development (18%), and access to finance (16%). This review distinguishes itself from existing studies by integrating a multi-dimensional analysis encompassing technological adoption disparities across regions, financial inclusion mechanisms, gender and youth engagement, and policy-innovation nexus. Key findings indicate that while precision agriculture and AI-based systems demonstrate 82-85% productivity gains, their benefits remain concentrated in developed economies (75% adoption rate) compared to smallholder-dominated regions (28-45% adoption). Financing barriers represent the most critical constraint, with women-led agro-startups receiving <5% of venture capital despite representing 48% of recognized startups. Emerging evidence suggests that blended finance models combining government grants, microfinance, and impact investment can improve funding accessibility by 60-75%. Policy support programs (Startup India, Making Indonesia 4.0) show variable effectiveness (59-72%), highlighting implementation gaps. This review identifies a critical research agenda: long-term impact assessments of digital agriculture in smallholder contexts, equity-focused innovation frameworks, climate-adaptive entrepreneurship models, and integration of informal agro-enterprises into formal innovation ecosystems. The synthesis emphasizes that sustainable agro-entrepreneurship requires coordinated interventions addressing infrastructure gaps, digital literacy, institutional support, and culturally-contextual business models, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia where entrepreneurial potential remains largely underutilized.