Let entrepreneurship lead our drive to prosperity

Ghana is an enduring example to its African peers in the area of sociopolitical stability.

After being the first in sub-Saharan Africa to break free from colonialism, the country has become an oasis of political freedom in a volatile region. It has witnessed peaceful transfers of power devoid of gun battles and bloodshed.

The economy has enjoyed tremendous growth but much needs to be done to put Ghanaians at the commanding heights of economic growth.

At the heart of it is entrepreneurship.

When it comes to entrepreneurship, the country needs to be deliberate and time conscious. It needs to be proactive in raising the next crop of entrepreneurs to solve its teething problems, champion its growth and benefit from their ingenuity.

This has to be seen from a national perspective rather than with the usual political and individual lenses. The benefits of entrepreneurship transcend parochial interests and serve as an avenue for individuals to contribute to national development.

Our family system is still strong and that increases the interdependency ratio. When an entrepreneur’s initiative employs someone, the likelihood is that the income to be earned would be used to take care of an average of three people – beyond the person’s nuclear family members.

Entrepreneurs are also a source of relief to the government. They create jobs to reduce unemployment, contribute to revenue generation and economic empowerment and arrest brain drain, which undermines national progress.

Rural entrepreneurship

For nations like Ghana aiming to develop sustainability, government policies and investments are only good to the extent that they unleash the entrepreneurial acumen of the citizens and cause same to flourish unhindered. That needs not to be urban bias but national, with a special focus on peri-urban and rural communities.

In rural areas, entrepreneurship, mostly through micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), helps to curb poverty. That reduces rural-urban migration, it bridges the gap created by big businesses in the areas of need and mobilises the energies and skills of the rural folks for development.

Rural enterprises create value chain businesses by sourcing their inputs from colleague local enterprises, thereby sparking a chain of entrepreneurship and activity. The value generated then becomes the little drops of water that accumulate to spike national income while advancing the fortunes of the rural folks.

In the case of Ghana, the enormous diversity of the populace, with over 70 ethnic groups, dozens of staple foods, and hundreds of unique cultural traits, makes this concept easier to implement. Each uniqueness can be leveraged and turned into a business idea, using the entrepreneurial skills of indigenes, and the products and services sold within the community.

The factories/businesses need not be massive and complex but quality, unique and efficient, specialising in providing goods for people in the localities.

Fruit processing

In areas where seasonal fruits such as watermelons, mangoes, oranges, bananas, tiger nuts, pawpaw, guavas, pears and pineapples are in abundance, people should be encouraged to start smaller processing facilities to process the fruit for the local markets.

Similarly, indigenes of communities that are known to be hot spots for particular animal and poultry raring should be encouraged to process the meat for the locals. This will promote healthy living while creating jobs for the indigenes.

Peculiar benefits

Rural enterprises find it comparatively easier to gain strong patronage for their products and services. Consumers mostly identify with them and feel a sense of patriotism in patronising their products.

The businesses and factories are also easy to set up. They do not require sophisticated infrastructure to operate as they can be established literally anywhere, so long as there is a market with expendable income.

Where do we start from? The district assembly system should be empowered to double as an entrepreneurship incubator. The assemblies should be given special funds to provide grants to workable business ideas that have been woven around the uniqueness of the locality. 

These funds should be disbursed based on merit to people and institutions with superior ideas, not those with the best of societal and political connections and influences. There should be a robust system from the national level to track the performance of beneficiaries, support them along the chain and revise the funding whenever necessary.

The successful entrepreneurs can now act as arrow heads through which newer ones will be nurtured.

Youth businesses

Across the country, many young folks are yearning to start businesses, with many leveraging their talents to create innovative solutions to problems facing their communities.

This needs to be encouraged, formalised and properly guided through policy and private sector support to birth the next great entrepreneurs.

Also, the notion by most youngsters that they have to secure a job, right after school must be disabused and the avenue created through the curricular and teaching methods to discover and nurture entrepreneurship among students.

Our traditional way of teaching and examining students need overhauling to move it from book-based to hands-on. In its current state, the school system stifles creativity, innovation, and divergent thinking and ultimately produces graduates who want to work rather than start businesses.

Role of state

With youth unemployment almost a national crisis, policymakers need to understand that entrepreneurship is a national service to help address a challenge that has dire security implications.

The days of state-led development are gone. It is now the turn of private sector-driven development and state apparatus must see themselves as facilitators of this new regime.

Like the travelator quickens and eases walking, state institutions must make it easier and smoother for ideas to flourish into businesses to help create revenue for the state, value for the economy and jobs for the populace. These conditions must be devoid of political leanings and must be national in character.

Ghana, like most African countries, is at a crossroads in its development trajectory. We have a good image and conducive sociopolitical environment that attracts foreign direct investments (FDIs).

We must now aim at growing the base of our entrepreneurship to produce what we eat and export to close our yawning non-oil import-export gap.

The author is a businessman and philanthropist, who founded several companies, including the recently collapsed Heritage Bank Limited

Author’s email: alhajisagongo@gmail.com

Read the full article on www.graphic.com.gh/features