The importance of entrepreneurial phenomena and, more generally, of the place occupied by VSBs in the sustainable development of economies, leads us to consider the factors that lead an individual to create a business. Research clearly illustrates that some people are more successful than others when it comes to identifying and exploiting the business opportunities that present themselves. Many explanations have been put forward for this: the way individuals may perceive the resources available, the accessibility of these resources, the value expected from exploiting these resources, the opportunity costs related to the various choices made, optimism, the move towards action and the level of personal propensity towards factors such as tolerating ambiguity or the need for accomplishment. This profusion of studies has brought two main sets of explanations to light that help us better understand the act of creating business: first of all, creating a business is based on individual considerations, organized around the core concept of motivation; secondly, personal dynamics fall within specific environments, which may make the actions of project owners easier or, may occasionally limit them.The aim of the research that we propose to undertake is to illustrate that the origin of entrepreneurial motivation is a range of needs with an intensity that varies from one entrepreneur to another. This intensity is explained through personal and professional antecedents. The business model established as the base of the project (innovation, reproduction, etc.) is determined in part by entrepreneurial motivation characteristics. The argument is supported by a wide range of bibliographic references, used to identify the needs that underlie this entrepreneurial motivation, the antecedents and the impact of these variables on the specificities of the project owner’s business model. We wish to test the links (relationships) from a sample group of entrepreneurs located in Senegal and Mali, and to compare our results with previous studies on the subject.
