“Entrepreneurs produce solutions that fly in the face of established knowledge, and they always challenge the status quo. They are risk-takers who pursue opportunities that others may fail to recognize or may even view as problems or threats. Whatever the definition of entrepreneurship, it is closely associated with change, creativity, knowledge, innovation and flexibility-factors that are increasingly important sources of competitiveness in an increasingly globalized world economy. Thus, fostering entrepreneurship means promoting the competitiveness of businesses.”- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
Entrepreneurship Improves the Global Economy
I would like to focus on the last line: “fostering entrepreneurship means promoting the competitiveness of business.” I agree wholeheartedly. Many say entrepreneurship can’t save all of the unemployed, can’t be taught to people, it’s a born trait. We can wax poetic on words all day, but the point is, we need to allow people to dream. This is America. We need to expose our children to the idea of it, just like we expose them to becoming a doctor, lawyer, accountant, or janitor. It’s another option. We also need to expose this idea to the many unemployed people out there who might be thinking about taking this leap, and may have been for awhile but never dared to dream. To actualize. To realize their full potential. America was built on this premise, of having options. That’s what makes us different than many countries in the world. We are still the land of milk and honey, we are still the country that people from far away lands flock to in order to actualize their dreams.
“Economic growth springs from better recipes, not just from more cooking.” – Paul Romer, Stanford
According to UNCTAD, private sector development has been a powerful engine of economic growth and wealth creation, and crucial for improving the quality, number and variety of employment opportunities for the poor.
- Economically, entrepreneurship invigorates markets. The formation of new business leads to job creation and has a multiplying effect on the economy.
- Socially, entrepreneurship empowers citizens, generates innovation and changes mindsets. These changes have the potential to integrate developing countries into the global economy.
At last year’s Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship, Lawrence H. Summers stated:
“The static strategies of accumulation, whether pursued by Russia in the ’40s and ’50s, or whether pursued by Japan in the 1980s, work for a time, but eventually run out of gas. The path to permanent and continuing change is the path of better recipes, the path of innovation, the path of the breakthroughs – organizational, intellectual, or technological – that can transform societies. The work of entrepreneurs.”
The issue and benefits and need for entrepreneurship is being addressed on a mass scale. We just need more attention and problem-solvers on the train vs. finger pointers and “if it bleeds it leads” media. Time to keep this discussion moving on a global level and start creating some viable solutions.
