GEW; it takes a village…

The Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is here! As the name says the GEW is just that, global. It is the world’s largest celebration of the innovators and job creators, who launch startups that bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand human welfare. According to the GEW website, for one week each November, GEW inspires people everywhere through local, national and global activities designed to help them explore their potential as self-starters and innovators. These activities, from large-scale competitions and events to intimate networking gatherings, connect participants to potential collaborators, mentors and even investors—introducing them to new possibilities and exciting opportunities.The initiative kicked off in 2008, launched by former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Carl Schramm, the president and CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Since then, it has grown to 115 countries—with nearly 24,000 partner organizations planning more than 37,000 activities that directly engage more than 7 million people. The value of entrepreneurial thinking to the global economies is immense. This was poignantly underscored in the world’s largest economy, the United States. In the campaigns for the just concluded elections, there was clear consensus on the need to create an enabling environment for small businesses. Each party fought to be seen to be pro-small business. Facts bear out this thinking. Many new jobs in entrepreneurial economies have come from startups (firms less than five years old). This is why it is not surprising that leaders around the world are looking to reinvigorate their economies by focusing on ways to stimulate new firm formation. Global Entrepreneurship Week helps map the entrepreneurial ecosystem in those countries and enjoys the participation and support of presidents and prime ministers on every continent.But this is not just some awareness campaign supported by world leaders and celebrity entrepreneurs. It is about unleashing ideas and doing what it takes to bring them to life—spotting opportunities, taking risks, solving problems, being creative, building connections and learning from both failure and success. The question we must ask in Rwanda is where we stand in this mix of things. What is our state of entrepreneurship development? How many businesses begun in the last one year? How many survived? How many jobs have we created? What support will be provided and by whom? What is our target of new start ups in the next twelve months? How do we propose to achieve this target? Who should we involve? How many jobs would we like to create? Perhaps these are a lot of questions. But there are, nonetheless, important questions. Consider this; we will meet groups of youths in various institutions, we will inspire them and get them all charged up by the end of the week with beautiful and motivational speeches and sessions. Best case scenario is that someone will decide and commit to starting her/his own business. Where and to whom can they go to for guidance with their business idea? How will they refine it into a bankable business plan? This is a role that can be taken by their teacher or mentors. It would more effective, however, if there was a business person to provide guidance. After that where will they get seed capital? Our banks rarely, if at all, fund business ideas. The question therefore is how to start. Organizations like BDF are a great help. They provide loan guarantees. An even better option would be for institutions (such as universities and colleges) where the new entrepreneurs are likely to be found, to lobby for and/or set up a fund for this purpose. They know their students better and thus can support them better. The Business plan competition approach is very popular. We award the winners in colourful ceremonies. This would be even better if we followed up and provided leadership and management training and support to the new entrepreneurs. This cannot be rushed and would be better if business based. It is where the rubber meets the road. It is during this time that the new product/service that the entrepreneur developed can be modified and tailored to meet the market needs. The whole process can take one to five years. Organisations like Enablis or Grofin are useful at this point. It is at this follow up stage where there is a lot of work to do. It might be long and grueling but it is the difference between success and failure. The growth and development of entrepreneurship requires continuous, multidimensional and multi-sectoral approach. Like a child’s upbringing in the traditional set up, it takes a village.Have a entrepreneurial week!