The Sunday Mail
Entrepreneurship Matters
Dr Kudzanai Vere
Without entrepreneurs in an economic ecosystem is difficult and almost impossible to talk about economic growth and development.
Entrepreneurs are central to economic growth and a non-negotiable economic entity that deserves every support, policy-wise, financial or otherwise from any upfront government.
If an entrepreneur according to John Baptiste Say is an economic agent who unites all the means of production from labour to capital, reconstituting all these to come up with products and services for the market and make a profit in the end, this is testimony that indeed entrepreneurs are an indispensable economic driver.
Entrepreneurs invalidate old processes, products and systems through what the Austrian economist Joseph Alois Schumpeter calls creative destruction.
New products, processes and perspectives can only be achieved through innovation, a factor which is dominant in Peter Drucker’s definition of an entrepreneur.
An economy with active and proactive entrepreneurs is a progressive economy. It’s never static, stagnant or halted as it is kept humming and in motion by its entrepreneurs who are always on top of their game de-constructing, reconstructing and constructing new economic horizons.
Entrepreneurship activities cut across all the sectors of an economy making entrepreneurs commonplace.
Without entrepreneurs, economic activities become general, robbed of the necessary innovation and creativity that is ingredient in the economic growth matrix.
Since entrepreneurs are key to economic growth, they deserve support through a conducive political and legislative environment.
How do entrepreneurs drive the economy?
I will start by defining what an economy is and see how entrepreneurs are fitting in and emerging as major players in that environment.
The simplest definition of an economy is a system of organisations and institutions that either facilitate or play a role in the production and distribution of goods and services in a society.
An economy therefore involves all production and consumption related activities as well as the trade of goods and services in a country.
Once we talk about production, consumption and distribution of goods and services, we would have already stepped into the entrepreneurship domain.
Entrepreneurs are the drivers behind all the production and distribution of goods and services within a market.
They go beyond the ordinary men and women by employing their unique abilities and capabilities in the execution of their businesses.
You have learnt from my previous articles that entrepreneurs start, support and sustain unique business ventures within an economy.
Such a responsibility comes with a number of attached economic benefits which includes employment creation, wealth generation for the entrepreneur and the state through taxes and the provision of goods and services to the masses.
Entrepreneurs drives the economy in five basic ways which are; introduction of innovations, provision of employment opportunities, stimulating competition within the market, increasing firm and economy productivity and accelerating structural changes within firms and economies.
Introduction of innovations
Entrepreneurs are responsible for the introduction of new technology which will result in new products and services in the market.
In the 21st century, technology has eased the way of doing business, cutting on process and procedure costs. Improved processes within an economy leads to the facilitation of a quicker way of improving and increasing productivity of both products and services. This has a direct input and contribution to a country’s gross domestic product.
From the definition of an economy, the key words there are production, distribution and consumption. Innovation within an economy leads to efficiency in both production and distribution. Entrepreneurship activities and innovation in particular reduces cost burdens while at the same time ushering in new products and services whose excess can be exported to foreign markets.
Provision of employment opportunities
Entrepreneurs start and run sustainable businesses. When a business grows, it will inevitably consume more people into its operations. Those employed will have some disposable income to use in buying the produced products and services.
You will see to it that an economic system is circular in nature where money rotates and goes back to where it started from.
The writer, Dr Kudzanai Vere is an entrepreneur, author and transformational speaker. He’s the author of Becoming a person of impact: The Six Pack Approach, Exceed beyond the ordinary: A step by step guide to becoming a high voltage entrepreneur and Soul Food Volume One & Two. Dr. Vere is the entrepreneurship coach of the year 2020, Transformational coach of the year 2020 and 1st Runner Up Overall Coach of the year 2020. He can be contacted for business and personal development coaching sessions on +263 719 592232 or [email protected]
