It is generally known that entrepreneurship contributes substantially to economic growth and has become the primary means of fostering economic development in advanced and emerging economies.
This article highlights the undefeatable role entrepreneurship plays as an independent factor in the development of an economy.
Job Creation
In a time of global recession and mass layoffs, entrepreneurship continues to provide a sustainable antidote to a crippling menace faced by all economies – unemployment.
Unemployment has always emerged as a key factor hindering societal development. It has an unfavorable impact on the income of families, erodes purchasing power, denigrates employee morale, and ultimately diminishes economic outputs.
Entrepreneurship has however proven to be the most effective tool to address this canker by creating opportunities through various startups, SMEs, and large businesses. Entrepreneurs are by basic definition job creators; they identify a need in the market and develop solutions through products and services. As enterprises expand, so does their employment portal.
Economic Independence
A nation’s trade balance hangs on a thread in the face of excess imports. When a country is heavily import dependent as opposed to export, its currency suffers devaluation; a key determinant of a nation’s economic performance.
Economic independence is out of reach to any country that continues to fuel import-related transactions instead of adopting sustainable mechanisms for export.
Economies, therefore, rely on entrepreneurs to come up with innovative ideas to create globally competitive products in order to maintain the much-needed balance between export and import.
When the entrepreneurial skills of citizens are properly harnessed and locally-made products are prioritized, a robust system of economic independence is set in motion.
Balanced Regional Development
Entrepreneurs play a key role in sparking development in underdeveloped areas of a country and this is particularly true of Social Entrepreneurs. When entrepreneurs build schools and establish businesses in rural regions, they create jobs, provide access to basic goods & services and make education accessible to people in such areas.
The growth of businesses in less developed regions leads to a wide range of benefits; good roads, safe transport, healthcare services, education, employment, skills acquisition, etc.
Inhabitants are thereby empowered as catalysts of change in these areas. With much understanding, their desire to join the overbearing population in urban areas gradually fades. They seek to continue the development of their communities by affecting these areas positively. Accumulated efforts over time gradually promote balanced regional and community development.
Gross National Product & Per Capita Income
The explore and exploit buttons are a go-to for entrepreneurs at every given opportunity. As entrepreneurs continue to explore by effectively mobilizing resources across the spectrum of their respective domains, bringing in products and services, driving market growth through sustainable business measures, and accelerating export activities, they help increase gross national product as well as the per capita income of the people in a country.
Eventually, this brings improvement in the standard of living of the people; which is a characteristic feature of a healthy economy. As businesses innovate, they gain mastery in producing a wide range of quality products at a lower cost, leading to lower prices. This affords individuals the courtesy of living decent lives in a flexible and affordable fashion.
Builds Stronger Families
Sustainable development must be people-centered and as such must prioritize the meaningful participation of individuals in the socioeconomic, cultural, and spiritual development of a nation.
The family is the only certified system or channel for procreation and remains the bedrock of society. Strong or weak families build communities after their kind and these communities together make up a nation.
It’s common knowledge that unemployment and lack of opportunities have rendered most families economically fragile leading to countless broken homes. Unbearable financial responsibilities have driven most fathers from their marital domains and have denied many the chance of living decent lives. Children have been raised with a kill-to-eat mentality that causes society so much harm in their adult life. Unconventional means of survival have become the new normal, where many turn to prostitution or swindle their way up the economic ladder.
In such tough times, we have seen some mothers, fathers, and children change the narrative through petty trading or small businesses. We attest to realities where uneducated parents honorably bear the financial burdens of their children’s education through simple activities like farming, petty trading, cleaning services, sale of food, food items or clothes, etc. We have seen uneducated parents pass on trade to their educated children leading to expansion and growth. Unemployed university graduates have taken a swift flip from job seeking to job creation with the help of technology in order to build lives they could be proud of.
Stories like these have only been made possible through entrepreneurship. The impact of entrepreneurship can be felt in all facets of society.
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Author
Gifty Boatemaa Annan
CEO & Co-founder, WestlionCo
