Entrepreneurship in developing a country's economy

K. Davidraja

Commerce and Management Faculty Eastern University of Sri Lanka

An entrepreneur is an individual who owns a firm, business, or venture, and is responsible for its development.

Entrepreneurship is the practice of starting a new business or reviving an existing business, in order to capitalize on new found opportunities.

Generally, 'entrepreneurship' is a tough proposition as a good number of the new businesses fail to take off. Entrepreneurial activities differ based on the type of business they are involved in. It is also true that entrepreneurial ventures create a number of new job opportunities.

A large number of entrepreneurial projects look for venture capital or angel funding for their startup firms in order to finance their capital requirements. Besides, government agencies and some NGOs also finance entrepreneurial ventures.

An entrepreneur is a person who has possession of a new enterprise, venture or idea and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome. The term is originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish economist Richard Cantillon.

Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to the type of personality who is willing to take upon herself or himself a new venture or enterprise and accepts full responsibility for the outcome. Jean-Baptiste Say, a French economist is believed to have coined the word 'entrepreneur' first in about 1800. He said an entrepreneur is 'one who undertakes an enterprise, especially a contractor, acting as intermediately between capital and labour.'

The importance of entrepreneurship

The role of entrepreneurship and an entrepreneurial culture in economic and social development has often been underestimated. Over the years, however, it has become increasingly apparent that entrepreneurship does indeed contribute to economic development.

Transforming ideas into economic opportunities is the crux of entrepreneurship.

History shows that economic progress has been significantly advanced by pragmatic people who are entrepreneurial and innovative, able to exploit. The role of entrepreneurship and an entrepreneurial culture in economic and social development has often been underestimated.

Over the years, however, it has become increasingly apparent that entrepreneurship does indeed contribute to economic development.

Transforming ideas into economic opportunities is the crux of entrepreneurship. History shows that economic progress has been significantly advanced by pragmatic people who are entrepreneurial and innovative, able to exploit opportunities and willing to take risks.

Entrepreneurs produce solutions that fly in the face of established knowledge, and they always challenge the status quo.

They are risk-takers who pursue opportunities that others may fail to recognize or may even view as problems or threats. Whatever the definition of entrepreneurship, it is closely associated with change, creativity, knowledge, innovation and flexibility-factors that are increasingly important sources of competitiveness in an increasingly globalized world economy.

Thus, fostering entrepreneurship means promoting the competitiveness of businesses.

Entrepreneurship and enterprise development

Private sector development and entrepreneurship development are essential ingredients for achieving the Millennium Development Goal of reducing poverty.

While sound macroeconomic policies and providing market access are crucial, emerging markets need to nurture and develop entrepreneurs able to take advantage of opportunities created by globalization.

For many developing countries, private sector development has been a powerful engine of economic growth and wealth creation, and crucial for improving the quality, number and variety of employment opportunities for the poor.

* Economically, entrepreneurship invigorates markets. The formation of new business leads to job creation and has a multiplying effect on the economy.

* Socially, entrepreneurship empowers citizens, generates innovation and changes mindsets. These changes have the potential to integrate developing countries into the global economy.

Importance of entrepreneurship to the economy

The importance of entrepreneurship to any economy is like that of entrepreneurship in any community.

Entrepreneurial activity and the resultant financial gain are always of benefit to a country.

If you have entrepreneurial skills then you will recognize a genuine opportunity when you come across one.

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Because a consulting business can be run from home, newcomers cite this as an advantage they also appreciate the full support and training offered them by the corporation.

Characteristics of an entrepreneur

I believe from experience, that you need to build a solid foundation. Buildup your knowledge in the field you are undertaking, it really is about patience, self control, not getting ahead of oneself - which can lead to failure also known as a lesson.

* I believe that there is one and one answer only to this question - JUST DO IT!! Many people talk the talk but can't walk the walk. Entrepreneurs get on with it. Don't worry about what people say. Get your head down and JUST DO IT!!

I think every entrepreneur needs a vision and determination to see it through. What is this vision? A market! When you see customers you have the start of a business. Then it is a matter of finding a product to satisfy the customer's need and get on with it.

You also need a thick skin because things are going to go wrong and you should not let yourself be defeated by setbacks. Besides a vision one of the most important characteristics of an entrepreneur is that you can overcome problems. I always say that being an entrepreneur is being a problem solver.

Lastly, you need to be able to enjoy building a business. If you can't laugh at yourself and at the things that happen to you when you are an entrepreneur you should not be working for yourself.

The entrepreneur is a self motivated person, that knows their time is far too valuable to work for someone else. They have a passion to succeed and will not let anyone or anything get in their way.

They usually will not research their ideas to death, they get an idea and spring to action learning what they need to know along the way.

They do not wait for everyone's approval to proceed in fact the more negativity they encounter the stronger they become.

Some of the personality characteristics of an entrepreneur:

* highly reliable

* self-confident

* independent

* commitment

* problem solving skills

* desire to work hard

* strong management skills

* organizational skills

* competitive

* strong integrity

* strong drive to achieve

The most Important characteristics of an entrepreneur

1. Creativity: An entrepreneur should be creative his or her mind should be a think tank full of ideas... and these ideas should be actionable.

2. Perseverance: He/She has perseverance, which is especially important if your business keeps falling. But if the entrepreneur really believes in what he is doing, perseverance will take him to success.

3. Resourceful: In order to survive and thrive in business you have to be resourceful in problem solving, reaching out to those that can help.

A business community is like one big family where the people share ideas, information and resources. You can't make it by yourself!

4. Positive attitude: A positive mental attitude is crucial to deal with some of the ups and downs in business life. When you start out your day with a smile on your face and a positive outlook on life wonderful things can happen. There really is a bright side to everything you encounter in a day of business. Sometimes you may need to look a little harder.

5. Follow through: I believe an Entrepreneur must have follow through. It's not enough to have great ideas. You have to be able to map a plan and follow that map to its completion.

You have to be able to stick to your plan. I think an entrepreneur probably gets ideas other for other opportunities but he/she must stay focused with the plan, blocking out any creative ideas not helpful to the current plan.

6. Training, dedication and being Patient: Have a knowledge of what business he/she is taking, experience, risk taker, dedicated to know how to improve their product and how to improve, and more gain...

7. Passion and dedication: I would also say a passion and dedication beyond the norm - very much needed to get a visionary idea off the ground.

8. Vision is the Main Thing: Vision. What do you want your business to be, how does it assist others and exactly what do you intend to do with the money?

9. Energy is a key requirement: I agree that discernment should be top of the list. I would also add high reserve of energy. I've never met a successful entrepreneur who lacked energy.

They have energy for their idea (passion) and energy to handle long days and countless hours creating and growing their business. My advice, pick a business you are passionate about and take care of your emotional and physical health so you have enough energy to turn your idea into a successful business.

10. Have to be a risk-taker: You have to be a risk-taker to be an entrepreneur. There are different levels of risk with different businesses, but if you can't accept risk, you'll never be successful because you'll never be able to push the envelope enough - or even have the brass to go out on your own. I think successful entrepreneurs are able to accept and deal with bigger levels of risk than average people.

Want to start a business? It's a good idea to first consider whether you are the type of person who will do well running your own business.

It's not that certain people are predestined to be great entrepreneurs. We all can learn how to do it. But some personal characteristics will lead you to do better than others.

Fiction: To be an entrepreneur you must be born that way.

Fact: Anyone can learn to operate like an entrepreneur.

Governments increasingly consider entrepreneurship and innovation to be the cornerstones of a competitive national economy, and in most countries entrepreneurship policies are in fact closely connected to innovation policies, with which they share many characteristics and challenges. Both are associated with "doing something new" and, designed correctly, they can be mutually reinforcing.

The dynamic process of new firm creation introduces and disperses innovative products, processes and organizational structures throughout the economy. Many countries are making serious efforts to support entrepreneurship, results appear to vary. Countries want to understand the determinants of and obstacles to entrepreneurship, and they need to analyze the effectiveness of different policy approaches.

The lack of internationally comparable empirical evidence has however constrained our understanding of entrepreneurship and many questions remain unanswered. Ultimately, policy making must be guided, as far as possible, by evidence and facts.

To tackle these issues, the Government has undertaken to build a new, and more robust, international knowledge base. Entrepreneurial activity and the resultant financial gain are always of benefit to a country.