In South Africa every person formally employed has an impact on the lives of six others.
The bottom line is that we need a future generation of entrepreneurs with imagination, resilience and the personal ambition to build businesses and create jobs.
South Africa has a strong history of entrepreneurship embedded in its business culture.
Think of Brian Joffe and Adrian Gore. These individuals managed to find the space to build very successful businesses.
In a fast-moving and volatile economy, the same kind of space is open to a next generation of entrepreneurs.
What is needed to encourage entrepreneurs is a mix of support that includes the right education, access to capital, support from key people and a network of like-minded entrepreneurs who have the self-confidence and belief to make their ideas a reality.
Personal characteristics such as resilience, imagination, financial acumen and the capacity to communicate good ideas are key characteristics of successful entrepreneurs.
If we look at globally great entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates and Henry Ford, their businesses didn’t involve a subtle improvement on an existing idea.They made changes to the game, creating enormous opportunities, recreating industries and altering the landscape of business.
Entrepreneurs are in the business of changing the world by bringing new ideas to markets. Entrepreneurship involves seeing opportunities where others don’t and creating opportunities for others and substantial wealth for themselves.
In recent times what is also notable is the fact that many entrepreneurs — and often the most successful — have had a university education.
In today’s complex world, the business insight and knowledge covered in a sound MBA provide a great platform for the drive and the energy that entrepreneurs need.
Professor Nick Binedell is director of the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), which is launching a full-time Entrepreneurship MBA this year