EDITORIAL: Start-ups capital a good gamble but Plan B must be at hand

The just-concluded World Export Development Forum in Kigali left some good food for thought, not least where an expert argued that the government might be giving away ‘too much’ money to start-up businesses in form of capital through programmes such as Hanga Umurimo, which could result in heavy financial loss. June Lavelle, a Poland-based business incubation expert, said too much government subsidy, while a brave and bold statement aimed at promoting SMEs, is not a good idea because it affects the ‘entrepreneurial edge’ of the beneficiaries. Lavelle said what is happening in the country kills the whole element of hustling to make it. Her expert take on the start-up capital issue poses a dilemma for the government, but not one without a fallback position. Rwanda is an economy that is thriving on its ability to alleviate the economic sustenance of its people through the self-reliance drive. Initiatives such as Hanga Umurimo (‘create a job’) receive up to 75 per cent in loan guarantee assistance from commercial banks with the help of Business Development Fund (BDF). But these initiatives are there to compliment the formal education sector that is being tailored to produce job creators rather than job seekers. Just like the One Cup of Milk-Per-Child or One-Cow-Per-Family cannot be construed as initiatives creating a spoon-feeding mentality, the start-ups capital is a necessary gamble that only needs a Plan B to keep running. Government subsidies are enshrined in the public-private sector partnerships. For every start-up that succeeds through government subsidy, there are dozens of jobs created. Along with the gamble, stakeholders should heighten training for entrepreneurs to weed out the temptations of diverting goals whenever money is at hand. There is need to critically assess why some start-ups fail, leaving BDF counting so many SMEs as nonperforming loans. The EDPRS II and Vision 2020 agendas are not feeble dreams that can be taken for granted by start-ups. Ceiling all the loopholes in the entrepreneurship challenges and harnessing accountability will help reduce the shortfalls.

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EDITORIAL: Start-ups capital a good gamble but Plan B must be at hand