CIPE’s work to build “enterprise ecosystems” and efforts to create better conditions for business are core to its broader democracy mission in emerging economies. We expand opportunity by raising the voice of business as a constituency, including the innovators and the visionaries. Working closely with local partners in more than one hundred countries, we grow business membership groups and help them develop agendas for addressing economic or social challenges, leveraging their know-how and networks. This private sector-led approach has helped improve countless lives and livelihoods for more than four decades.
CIPE continues to grow its collective understanding of the essential role of entrepreneurs and the invaluable insights and inspiration they offer in the realm of policy making and programs. They have expertise, tactical knowledge, and often foresight that the rest of us do not. They live on the cusp of new possibilities. Entrepreneurs see opportunities where others see barriers. They can help us understand the barriers so we can overcome them. And thus another contribution of entrepreneurs is their ability to surprise us.
Sniffing Out Opportunity
Entrepreneurship includes risk-taking and leading through uncertainty. This involves shining light on pathways that others had not considered or did not believe feasible. “It is the job of the entrepreneur to sniff out and realize opportunity that is overlooked, undervalued, or even berated by others,” wrote well-known venture capitalist and professor Daniel Isenberg.
Entrepreneurs see opportunities where others see barriers. They can help us understand the barriers so we can overcome them.
Entrepreneurial journeys also show us pathways out of poverty and even displacement. Peruvian entrepreneur Aquilino Flores is an example still used by economists in his country. Flores started out selling t-shirts at car washes, eventually growing his business into Peru’s leading textile and garment exporter Topy Top. In more recent examples, CIPE and other organizations are helping to support entrepreneurship within unexpected places, such as the LIFE (Livelihoods Through Food Entrepreneurship) consortium in Turkey, which created an incubator restaurant program for Syrian refugees and other displaced persons. A different program in the Sahel is now helping 100 young people learn to start and grow new businesses, most of which are aimed at addressing the region’s food insecurity issues brought on by conflict and supply chain problems.
Meanwhile in Guatemala, another CIPE youth entrepreneurship program with local partners takes a different direction, identifying the creative economy as a promising launchpad. Graduate Lucia Suasnavar is one of many women who have benefited. Through training, mentoring, and networking she now has a successful marketing and design firm. Now she is helping other businesses reach potential customers and grow.
What Do Entrepreneurs Need?
Governments worldwide have come a long way in developing policies that facilitate entrepreneurship, yet decision makers still frequently overlook the viewpoints of actual entrepreneurs and the private sector. Well-intentioned policies often overlook key needs that will help new and existing businesses be successful and thrive. Among the top issues: extremely complicated and lengthy registration processes, high administrative costs, lack of digital skills, and other barriers to access.
It is helpful to remember that entrepreneurs represent different constituencies and their distinct requirements.
Nepal’s experience during the COVID-19 pandemic was one of many during the time that showed what can happen when business communities are not involved in policymaking. Lockdowns hastily implemented to prevent the spread of disease did not account for increased public reliance on online food ordering and delivery services, potential areas for innovation or expansion. CIPE partner Bikalpa built connections between policymakers and young entrepreneurs that helped address key issues for the essential businesses and resulting startups. Ultimately, incorporation time for companies was reduced from 30 to 15 days. And motorbike license processing times, previously a year or more, were reduced to less than a month. This expanded delivery capabilities.
The RiseUp Startup Manifesto for Egypt is one of many other initiatives in recent years that spotlighted challenges or insurmountable problems for new businesses, providing a comprehensive set of specific needs and priorities articulated by owners of startups. The Manifesto explained important legal snags, including retroactive taxes, that deterred businesses from joining the “formal” economy. Such issues are frequently cited in countries where the majority of businesses are small and family-owned.
Meanwhile, CIPE and partners have found that even formally registered firms in many countries often avoid official contracts. Why? Because they lack confidence in the enforcement of such agreements. These concerns often accompany other governance issues such as property rights, corruption levels, and access to information… all areas of focus for CIPE programs with partners in the private sector and civil society.
It is helpful to remember that entrepreneurs represent different constituencies and their distinct requirements. CIPE works with women’s chambers of commerce and associations in numerous countries to craft business agendas and advance policy solutions that might not normally be considered part of other competitiveness agendas. Partners have pushed through a multitude of measures to help more women join their local economies, from curfew adjustments to property ownership. Other accomplishments include putting more women loan officers in Bangladesh to facilitate access to finance, creating collateral registries in Nigeria, and legal measures in Moldova to enable alternative childcare services.
Entrepreneurs Reflect Economic Health
Entrepreneurs are also a gauge. To assess the health of a country’s economy, experts urge us to watch its entrepreneurs. When business formation and growth falter, it can signal weakness in the economy. Conversely when many new startups emerge, even amid economic downturns and times of adversity, it can signal positive economic trajectory and new opportunities for all citizens.
Entrepreneurs break through inertia to create value, blaze new paths, activate markets, and unite communities.
American entrepreneur and tech guru Brad Feld pointed out that startups thrive in and create community, sometimes in surprising ways. In the aforementioned Guatemala creative economy project, entrepreneurs have come together in co-working spaces and other venues, contributing to both the entrepreneurial life and cultural life of the city. The Bulgarian Entrepreneurial Association (BESCO) is one of many groups that have launched programs to benefit other aspects of society, creating an Advocacy Academy for participants who want to have more impact in their communities. And company owners who have successfully navigated the path to success can empower others by sharing what they know. The Ukrainian Union of Entrepreneurs (SUP) is an organization that represents self-made entrepreneurs, not those who privatized state assets, and consequently provides recommendations for a competitive economy.
Throughout history, acceptance of new ideas and encouragement of entrepreneurial spirit have been key ingredients to developing healthy and inclusive economies. Entrepreneurs break through inertia to create value, blaze new paths, activate markets, and unite communities. There are many ways to tap into their knowledge and build on those insights. They will often offer opinions, but when is the last time you reached out and asked them to?
Published Date: November 17, 2024