It is widely accepted that entrepreneurship is the gateway to
effective economic development anywhere in the world. It is an undisputable
fact today that Nigeria is in a desperate need of innovative, well informed and
dynamic youths and entrepreneurs as the drivers of an economy projected by
Goldman Sachs, a renowned US based investment giant to be among the first 20 economies
in the world by the year...
A handful of people have been doing a lot on this in Nigeria,
as there are great initiatives working towards creating an enabling environment
for entrepreneurship to thrive, as well as the proliferation of entrepreneurs.
At this time however, let me borrow a leaf from a strategic event on going in
Nairobi, Kenya. I have curled an excerpt from Sir Steve Masiyiwa, an entrepreneurship
strong voice of renown from Kenya that I have followed on Facebook for a while
now and I so much admire. Reporting the event, he said:
“It is one of the most important developments for entrepreneurs this year:
It is the Global
Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), which is being held in Kenya (#GES2015KENYA)
Some of you may already
have heard of this important event, which is also being attended by U.S.
President Barrack Obama.
As I have said before, if
you are an entrepreneur or desire to be an entrepreneur one of the most
important skills you need is the ability to "network" with other
entrepreneurs, financiers, investors, business leaders, policy makers and civil
society leaders. This you can do by attending such gatherings, whether they are
local, national or international.
This is part of
"investing" in your own success: You need to listen to others, and
also exchange ideas.
When you are not able to
attend such gatherings for whatever reason including financial, then follow the
event using social media, and Youtube.
GES is one of the most
important events for entrepreneurs that takes place anywhere in the world. The
Summit was started by President Obama in 2009 to foster entrepreneurship and it
has been hosted every year in different countries, such as Turkey, the US,
Malaysia etc. This year it is in Kenya – the first time it's taking place in
Sub-Saharan Africa.
There are thousands of
delegates that have arrived here in Nairobi, and most of them are young
business and social entrepreneurs, and virtually every African country is well
represented, as well as Europe, Asia, the U.S., Latin America, and the Middle
East. I have never seen anything like it, and it has not even started. It feels
like going to the Olympic Games!
#YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS HAVE LITERALLY TAKEN
OVER NAIROBI.
Following my arrival in
Nairobi on Thursday afternoon, I immediately went to speak at an event organized
by the Case Foundation, called "Unleashing Entrepreneurship".
Although not part of the main event of GES, it is one of many events leading up
to the opening of GES on Saturday.
I shared a panel discussion
with Jean and Steve Case, the founders of America Online (AOL) – one of the
great businesses that developed the early phase of the Internet industry, and
became a multi-billion dollar business.
Jean and Steve are
passionate philanthropists who dedicate their time and considerable fortune
helping your entrepreneurs around the world. They are passionate about Africa.
# we discussed the
challenges of helping young entrepreneurs get capital for their projects.
# we urged banks to change
the way they approach lending, so they can accommodate the needs of young
entrepreneurs.
# we called for the
development of venture capitalists to set up special funds to help early stage
entrepreneurs.
# we called on governments
to do more to recognize the role of women entrepreneurs across Africa.
# we called on governments
to ensure that traditions, and legal barriers that prevent women from
accumulating wealth be dismantled immediately.
# we must not treat women
in the small enterprise sector (including smallholder farmers) as though they
are invisible. We must empower them with resources and training, and we must
treat their activities with respect. We must also recognize that they
contribute far much more to economic activity and employment creation than is
often acknowledged".
We need to make this happen here; we need to bring this event
to Nigeria.
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