Why is entrepreneurial development important for the world, a country, the entrepreneurial ecosystem and for the entrepreneur?
Entrepreneurship development holistically represents the process of exploring and exploiting an opportunity discovered through market imperfections or created from extensive industry knowledge or specific entrepreneurial skill. The development of such opportunities then leads to the formation of new ventures. Entrepreneurship, in a nutshell, therefore results in economic growth and technology development. It stimulates investment opportunities and employment; it increases a country’s tax base as more ventures are created, and more people employed; it causes income to increase which then again leads to improved living standards. Therefore, positioning entrepreneurship as one vehicle that drives economic development and have the power to enrich societal well-being.
How does entrepreneurship then develop?
It starts with an entrepreneurial orientation (a culture that supports risk-taking, innovativeness and pro-activeness; education that promotes learners to become employers rather than employees; supportive family structures; work experience that complements entrepreneurial endeavours; and some personal qualities associated with being entrepreneurial), together with a supportive and cooperative environment. The presence of these elements makes it favourable for an entrepreneur to enter into a market. It aligns the needs of the customer – their pains – with their unique offering – the value proposition. However, the entrepreneur’s inherent and acquired abilities will have an influence on their decision to pursue an opportunity and develop a value proposition. It can also be the direct cause of opportunity abandonment, very often a result of low entrepreneurial motivation, or low opportunity confidence.
