I have always believed that for any economy to thrive there must be a culture of entrepreneurship being developed. I believe that small businesses are the driving forces behind any economy success. In many countries Governments are currently under intense pressure from their citizen to create more jobs. I believe that it is actually these citizens job to create the jobs and the government duty is to create an environment that fosters Job creation, all this through entrepreneurship.
Many young person's leave school and are constantly searching for the perfect job, in an era when job security is no longer certain; I believe that young people need to leave school thinking about ways to create the perfect jobs. I believe that the mindset that some of these individuals people have has to do with what they were being taught in school. As I reminisce on my journey as a business major in College, I was taught how I should manage a business. I was taught accounting, and marketing and other important aspect of managing a business; however I wasn't taught the principles of actually creating my own business. I believe that this is one for the reasons why many young persons leave school and start looking for jobs, because that's exactly what they were taught to do.
I believe much of today's economic problems can be dealt with if we are to embrace entrepreneurship. Many countries in the Caribbean for instance are experiencing a host of economic problems, Governments are doing their best to try and invite investors into the countries. However if these governments nurture the create spirit within its citizens and let them know from a very young age that entrepreneurship is an option, this can help propel an economy forward.
There are many business schools around the world that have made it their duty to ensure that a culture of entrepreneurship is developed amongst its students. Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Learning in Mexico (Instituto Technologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey) is one of the schools that has been cultivating that entrepreneurial spirit amongst its students. One of the degrees taught there is creation and development of businesses. There are many schools in the US and Canada such as University of Toronto and Babson College. These schools have an amazing entrepreneurship programme. University of the West Indies also has a good Undergraduate entrepreneurship programme. I believe when students are thinking of pursuing a degree in business, Entrepreneurship should be one of the fields that can be chosen. It will go beyond what is taught in a normal business programme.
However, apart from North America, countries such as India have seen a rise in the number of schools offering entrepreneurship as a major. India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and one of the things I attribute this to is that they have a culture of entrepreneurship. Schools such as The Indian School of Business, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India have very rigorous courses in entrepreneurship. The S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR) and the N.S. Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning has all contributed in my opinion significantly to India becoming such a rapid expanding economy. I came across a post on canabista.com/category/education/ that speaks about some of the Top business schools in India. It made me realize that the countries with the schools that really invest a lot in entrepreneurship are the ones that are doing really well.
If many more countries were to invest in entrepreneurship and ensure that citizens are exposed to business creation from a very young age then this can help curb some of the economic problems being faced. While speaking to a friend from Johannesburg recently, he indicated to me that South Africa has recently created a Ministry and appointed a Minister of Small Business, which will take effect next August. I believe that this is what is needed in every country. This especially in the Caribbean region, Caribbean leaders need to understand the importance of small business to the economy. They also need to understand that they do not create the employments but these entrepreneurs are the ones to do so and that they need to provide all the support that is needed. In some countries in the Caribbean, the governments organize small business workshop that last for three or four weeks and that's as far as it goes. The participants leave with a certificate and return to searching for jobs instead of developing their plans to launch their own ventures.
I believe that if the government partners with schools to ensure that all support is offered to aspiring entrepreneurs in terms of mentoring, funding, training, and affordable resources among others, then this can be the start of creating a much needed culture of entrepreneurship, whether it's in the Caribbean or anywhere in the world.