Africa particularly Zimbabwe and South Africa have embarked on various economic empowerment programs which are attracting attention at a global scale. Africa’s march towards economic freedom needs to be driven from an informed point of view which takes into account several short comings and how they can be overcome.
One such area which needs attention is the cultivation and development of an entrepreneurial culture which will encourage locals to seek to build own businesses rather than grab those established by others. The evidence suggests that the interaction between culture and entrepreneurship is stronger in the case of some ethnic groups than others. A relevant question is what are the chances of an individual starting a business when you have never had a close relative or anyone you know for that matter start one?
In this context Culture refers to the enduring set of values of a nation, a region, an organization or any readily identifiable group of people. Entrepreneurship is defined as the act and process by which societies, regions, organizations, or individuals identify and pursue business opportunities to create wealth as it relates to assuming risk with the hope of getting a reward.
In some municipalities, entrepreneurs enjoy high social status, regardless of whether they are already successful; elsewhere they are looked down upon and other occupations are more admired.
Globally Researchers have explored the effect of national, regional, and organizational cultures on wealth creation through new venture creation, innovation, and risk taking. It appears certain places have more chances of developing entrepreneurship due to the presence of entrepreneurship infrastructure and culture.
This means for a continent like Africa which is relatively behind in terms of building home grown businesses there is need to Governments to embark on institutional building capacity which helps develop entrepreneurial culture and spirit.
It is this spirit which will then help feed into the economic empowerment endeavour. In the absence of the required entrepreneurial infrastructure and spirit locals maybe be misled to believe that one can only own a successful business by invading or grabbing a successful business.
This must be corrected from day one that entrepreneurship is an endeavour which requires discipline and effort which may in turn create a valuable business and create new wealth. It must be made clear that new wealth can’t be created by destroying current wealth through ill thought out policies.
Development of an entrepreneurial culture and infrastructure helps develop a feedback mechanism appears to be in place: places with more entrepreneurs tend to attract still more entrepreneurs. Once an entrepreneurial culture takes root in a certain area or country, it typically spreads locally gradually, as more people learn about business and begin to feel attracted by it – even if it doesn’t yield an immediate or certain rewards or profit more individuals are encouraged into entrepreneurship.
The Culture and spirit of entrepreneurship is critical to succeed in the 21st Century Economy. Africa in general and Zimbabwe in particular need to pay particular attention in developing this culture to avoid missing opportunities of the 21st Century which will be reaped by those nations with well developed Entrepreneurial infrastructure , culture and spirit .
From an early age children need to be imparted the importance of working hard, taking risk and expecting rewards and not to expect to reap where they didn’t sow by just seizing an established business. Such behaviour is the anti-thesis of an entrepreneurial culture which Zimbabwe must develop to ensure the success of the Economic empowerment program.
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This article was prepared exclusively for 3MG MEDIA by GMRI Capital a Division of the ENG Capital Group.
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