ENTERPRISE54 – We have heard that 2015 is the year for entrepreneurs and small businesses. While James Caan, a serial entrepreneur and investor summed it up as the year to shine, Tony Elumelu, CON, a Nigerian entrepreneur and philanthropist in his article, “The Rise of Africapitalism” predicts that 2015 will be the year where African
ENTERPRISE54 – We have heard that 2015 is the year for entrepreneurs and small businesses. While James Caan, a serial entrepreneur and investor summed it up as the year to shine, Tony Elumelu, CON, a Nigerian entrepreneur and philanthropist in his article, “The Rise of Africapitalism” predicts that 2015 will be the year where African entrepreneurs will take their place on global stage.
Do you share in this high doze of optimism? What is your prediction for 2015?
If you are still taking stock for the year 2014, this might also be a good time to look in the mirror and do some serious personal and organizational reflection.
I spent ample time chronicling stories of entrepreneurs this past week and I found two issues dominating the conversations with them – the need for mentorship and an enabling business environment.
For the wanna-be entrepreneurs, before you quit your job and run after the dream that has been tugging at you since kindergarten, it might be worth considering other possible ways to position yourself in the booming entrepreneurial space—dip one foot in to test the water as suppose to diving in with your whole body, one entrepreneur advised.
When I asked them what their major challenge was in running a business– funding is not what jumped on the list—surprisingly so. Most of the young entrepreneurs said that funding is the least challenge. As a matter of fact, one shared how he had all the money he needed to run his business but a few wrong decisions left him cashless and broke. This would have been avoided if he had the right mentors or network.
Mentorship is the key that opens key doors. Seek a mentor, one advised. Don’t underestimate the power of business mentorship. Until you find a right mentor, keep searching.
An enabling business environment would include- stable power supply, good road network, favorable policies etc. These of course, are currently limited in supply.
But—not to shut down on the optimism, as we all position ourselves to leverage on the opportunities 2015 will bring to the business eco-system—here is raising a glass to all entrepreneurs bootstrapping their ideas to the next level.
Editor’s Note: This piece was contributed by Jennifer Ehidiamen, an award-winning journalist and editor of Rural Reporters.
1 comment
1 Comment
Telema
December 5, 2014, 9:46 pmI’ll like to put it this way: its not what 2015 brings for us but what we bring into 2015. These projections and optimistism are worth the consideration as long as the needed variables are rightly explored as expounded in this piece: business mentorship and enabling environment.
REPLYThen again,funding still is a major challenge. I personally think the reality of every entrepreurial venture differs in experience and exposure. The gap with regards to accessing key resources needs to be narrowed so as to realise a level-playing field across sectors. Nevertheless,we eagerly await the start of 2015 for the land is set for the taking!