Int. J. Business and Globalisation, Vol. 11, No. 4, 2013 337 Copyright © 2013 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Composition of networks around entrepreneurs: cross-national comparisons in the Middle East and North Africa Constance Van Horne* College of Business, Zayed University, P.O. Box 144534, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates E-mail: constance.vanhorne@zu.ac.ae *Corresponding author Lotfi Belkacem Research Laboratory for Economy, Management and Quantitative Finance, IHEC – University of Sousse, B.P. 40, Route de la ceinture, Sahloul III, 4054 Sousse, Tunisia E-mail: lotfi.belkacem@yahoo.fr Taha Ahmed Al Fusail Faculty of Commerce and Economics, Sana’a University, P.O. Box 1247, Harat Bi’r Ash Shaif, Sana’a, Yemen E-mail: dr_talfusail@yahoo.com Abstract: This paper investigates the composition of networks around entrepreneurs in the MENA region and how this composition differs amongst the 14 countries with regards to the size and diversity of the networks used at various stages of venture development. The findings indicate significant difference between entrepreneurs at various stages of venture development for network size and network diversity. The empirical results show that the more the network is diversified, the shorter the duration of the launch of the venture. The investigation also reveals that entrepreneurs with relative large networks are more likely to launch their business in a short time. Keywords: entrepreneurs’ network; network composition; MENA region; global entrepreneurship monitor; GEM. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Van Horne, C., Belkacem, L. and Al Fusail, T.A. (2013) ‘Composition of networks around entrepreneurs: cross-national comparisons in the Middle East and North Africa’, Int. J. Business and Globalisation, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp.337–352. Biographical notes: Constance Van Horne is an Assistant Professor of Management at the College of Business at Zayed University, Abu Dhabi. She completed her PhD in Strategy at the Université Laval in Quebec City. Her research focused on entrepreneurial professors and their research centres with