Page 83 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 15

Economy

next with much success. Schum- as China and America, which are preneurship. It won’t be smooth sail-
peter was right in indicating that countries known for their awe-in- ing, especially at the beginning. Bear
some innovations have the power spiring innovations. By the 1940’s in mind that a smooth sea never
to creatively disrupt the current the American education system was made good and skilled sailors.
state of things. This is exactly what already offering MBAs in entrepre- As an entrepreneur you will be faced
happened when digital photography neurship. Their education has been with many stumbling blocks, but
disrupted film photography and structured in a way that it inculcates you have to find a way to maneuver
shook things up for big giants such and increases awareness in its stu- past this. Entrepreneurs are ever
as Kodak. dents about entrepreneurial culture. on guard and alert, looking for
This even led to the formation of opportunities that other ordinary
In whatever line of work that you the Silicon Valley under its ‘father’ individuals cannot fathom are there.
are in, you can be an entrepreneur as Frederick Terman. From constantly being vigilant in
you work to solve the daily prob- looking and searching for opportu-
lems of the general populace. This Without a doubt, entrepreneurship nities, the next thing entrepreneurs
entrepreneurial culture should be continues to evolve in sync with should do is to accept the risk
inculcated in children as young as the digital way our day to day lives associated with their new venture.
those in kindergarten, so that by have turned out to be. Bearing that When it comes to resources and
the time they are adults, they have in mind, this might be a call for you finance you should leverage on the
secure businesses generating income my treasured readers to join in this little that you have. Never let issues
for themselves. bandwagon and be your own boss. of finance and resources stop you,
It can only, start with you. for entrepreneurship dictates a real
In Africa we need more entrepre- Nowadays even university graduates entrepreneur worms his or her way
neurial minded people to propel the are being exhorted to start their out and around such tight spots; as
continent to greater heights. The own small business that will help in one maximizes on what he already
21st century requires quick think- wealth creation for the whole na- has on the ground.
ing individuals who change with tion, improving the quality of life of
time who will take up the doctrine the people and creating employment At the same time, an entrepreneur
of flexibility and be living testimo- through these new ventures. Do not should be a game player always
nies of it. If this paradigm shift is die with your brilliant ideas, try them putting their networking skills to
incorporated, of letting go of the out, put them to use and you never good use in a bid to attract more
conventional way of doing things, know what might happen. It’s not a customers or even business angels.
we will go far. Imitating innovations good thing to have misgivings later Networking is a powerful skill to let
is not a bad thing but it’s high time in your life when someone else ends people know about your products
we capacitate ourselves to come up implementing a similar idea to and getting word out. Through this
forth with fruitful novel ideas that fruition. whole experience, it can earn you
will lead to even indigenous inno- referrals and later testimonials. At
vations. Thus, this entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship has many benefits the end of the day many doors will
discipline shouldn’t just be words on attached to it, as long as you are will- open for you. This is why some peo-
paper but it needs to be deliberately ing to risk it at the onset. Calculated ple have friends in high places, it’s
followed through, to end up as theo- risk is a large portion of what en- through their networking skills that
ry being practiced on the ground. trepreneurship is all about. For you have them rubbing shoulders with
University incubation hubs should will be trying something new in the their targeted market in no time.
bring commercially viable inno- highest hope that the end results will
vations to the table that have the be gratifying. Many entrepreneurs Your approach will depend on what
ability to be exported, if need be, fail at this stage, for various reasons, drives you. Most entrepreneurs are
like the Dedan Kimathi University with the most common issue being driven by a vision, that is, fore-
in Kenya which is going to be the that they are risk averse. The point sight concerning what they want to
hot bed of producing semi-con- to take note of is that when you face achieve. It might take a long time
ductors, one of its kind in Africa. up to failure the first time around, and the road might be a bumpy one,
This way the African growth and you should strive to overcome. but it is a rewarding one at the end
development will be a sure thing and Let failure be a stepping stone to of the day.
it will place us somewhere beyond success. Every success story has its
those considered the big giants, such hardships, the same applies to entre-

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