The Sunday Mail
Entrepreneurship Matters
Dr Kudzanai Vere
The world has quickly evolved into a tech gadget. Technology has taken up every space and it continues to do so.
All that we used to do in three hours manually is now done within minutes by machines. We have many individuals who have built their businesses around technology and are making it big in that space.
Technopreneurship has now become a big thing in start-ups and the business ecosystem in general. Technopreneurs start and manage their own technology businesses.
Technopreneurship is a fusion of two words, technology and entrepreneurship, thus, it is entrepreneurship in the field of technology.
Businesses that are tech-related have a high chance of survival if they keep upgrading as technology evolves over time.
As I always say, every business, large or small, started off as an idea in someone’s mind and so is technopreneurship.
It is a tech-related business idea that was allowed to see the light of day in the form of a business entity. At the centre of it all is creativity and innovation in coming up with solutions to the current socio-economic challenges.
When we say technology, we are not only confining ourselves to information and communication technology (ICT), it also embraces electronics, bio-technology, hi-tech, solar-tech and many others.
As you think of coming up with a tech-related solution to a current challenge, you must have an array of options available in that space that you can utilise.
The current state of technopreneurship
There is a general misconception in the minds of many that to become a technopreneur, one needs to be tech-savvy, and a genius in coding or inventing new technology. Although that can play a big role, it is not always true.
The biggest question is the way one identifies challenges people are facing and one’s ability to think of and come up with a tech- related solution for that particular challenge.
Smart technopreneurs understand the principle of outsourcing experts in areas they are not good at in order to produce the best product or service for the market.
At times, it does not matter how many people are already in a certain market that you want to venture into. What matters is the type and package of the product you are bringing in and the challenges it is addressing.
We have our own Takwana from the city of gold, Kadoma, who came up with his Senditoo business concept and there it is, blooming. He is determined and resolute in his approach for he does what he likes and enjoys doing.
We all have seen how companies such as Facebook (Mark Zuckerberg), ZOOM (Eric S. Yuan), Google (Larry Page and Sergey Brin), Uber (Travis Cordell Kalanick), Econet (Strive Masiyiwa), Paypal and SpaceX (Elon Musk) started and their relevance, especially more recently, Facebook Live, Zoom and Microsoft Teams during the Covid-19 era.
There are numerous challenges which are yet to be addressed that we can innovate around.
Just watch the space, this Doc through his company Tengesa Online is bringing in a revolutionary tech solution to some pressing challenge people are facing.
I repeat, just watch the space. Technopreneurship is the way to go,especially in Africa, where we need to do more to cover up for the time we spend watching things happening and not being involved.
We spend most of our time in a spectator mode, enjoying and cheering others playing the game. It is time that we wake up and join the technopreneurhip bandwagon.
Importance of technopreneurship
No one will resist an automated way of doing things. Imagine if our big retail supermarkets, the OKs and Pick n Pays, were still using the manual cash sales. We would be having winding queues and it would take long to be served. Many thanks to the technopreneur who came up with the point of sale systems.
Technopreneurs bring in efficiency, effectiveness, reliability, customer satisfaction and increased productivity.
Organisational efficiency is enhanced and, ultimately, the local and national economic output is boosted. Where only a tonne of maize was produced manually, when using a sheller, more is produced in less time.
Look at the Delta or Varun Beverages production lines and imagine if all that was done manually. Indeed, technology brought some speed into the value chain.
In as much as people say technological advancement is causing unemployment, it all depends on the side you are looking at it from. Take the Delta and Varun Beverages example.
When they improved on their production lines, they started producing more and came up with some distribution strategies where hand-driven vending carts created employment for many.
This is driven chiefly by production efficiency. Technopreneurship creates new jobs and can help our nation tackle the unemployment problem to a significant extent.
Technological advancement is another benefit that technopreneurs usher in. In addition to employment creation, they will strive to improve the existing technology, which will result in maximum utilisation of a country’s endowments.
Once one comes up with a bankable tech idea, investors are willing to invest into such a project. Investment and funding are integral for any start-up.
These financiers utilise the public savings, which lead to the economic growth of the country.
A technopreneurship mindset is promoted when some youths are employed through such initiatives. They learn how things are done and those who are passionate about developing in that direction would have had a chance to do so.
How to become a successful technopreneur?
Technopreneurs are more than ordinary business people, they go that extra mile in all that they do. They normally do not use common sense for it gives birth to common or ordinary results. They go beyond common sense in their innovations and inventions.
Execution is key.
Technopreneurs just have to do it. This calibre of business entrepreneurs have the zeal and determination to explore uncharted territories and are persistent.
They do not stop at anything but success. Check the history of all the successful technopreneurs in the world. They always sail forward.
Technopreneurship is aimed at improving people’s lives by providing working, relevant and current tech-based solutions. They do this through building a coherent team that is passionate about making things happen.
Conclusion
To become successful in the tech business, you must also be thinking and doing tech in your life. Develop eyes that see challenges and wire up solutions using current technology.
The writer, Dr Kudzanai Vere, is the founder and CEO of Kudfort Zimbabwe, a fast-growing accounting and business advisory firm that has assisted individuals and organisations start, support, sustain and succeed in their businesses through company registration, establishment of standard operating procedures, basic bookkeeping, accounting, auditing, forensic accounting, PRAZ registration, business health check-ups and business advisory services. Dr Vere authored a number of business and personal development books that have transformed minds. You can contact Dr Vere on +263 719 592232 or [email protected]
