12 May, 2016
http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/05/12/141259
Developing entrepreneurship ecosystem policy
M S Siddiqui Entrepreneurs are innovative persons, who recognise opportunity, mobilise resources and create value. They are the key persons to the creation of institutions and the building of capacities that are imperative for economic development. According to theory, the benchmark entrepreneurs are those whose businesses (1) produce and sell products/services considered to be new to at least some customers, (2) use a technology less than five years old, (3) have sales in foreign markets, (4) plan to employ at least ten people, and (5) have projected growth target of more than 50 per cent over the next five years. Entrepreneurship, the ability of entrepreneurs, has been considered a necessary condition for sound and genuine economic development. Entrepreneurship is seen as instrumental to country's economic growth because of its efficacy in creation of jobs, income, wealth and propelling competition and innovations in the economy. It has become indispensable to the functioning and prosperity of both developed and developing economies. A vigorous entrepreneurship and SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) development are among the most important conditions for successfully meeting the challenges facing most developing countries. The contribution of entrepreneurship to economic prosperity has grown with the shift of the global economy towards a mode of production in which knowledge has become a key input. High entrepreneurial abilities are associated with start-ups in the high-technology sectors that are initiated by educated entrepreneurs and launched because of opportunity motivation in a not too competitive environment. Quality differences in start-ups are quantified by the motivation and education level of the entrepreneur, and by the uniqueness of the product or service, as measured by the level of competition. The Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute (GEDI Institute) is a research organisation that advances knowledge on links between entrepreneurship, economic development, and prosperity. Their Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI), 2016 reveals that Bangladesh is in the 125th position out of the 132 countries. Our scores are 15.2 out of 100 in the GEDI and the sub-indices are 14.6 in entrepreneurial attitudes, 21 in entrepreneurial abilities and 10 in entrepreneurial aspirations. GEDI provides leaders with an initial go-to analytical resource to begin the process of developing new policies that accelerate new firm formation, innovation and job creation. This study focuses on countries' entrepreneurial framework conditions with individual-level entrepreneurial attitudes, abilities, and aspirations. Bangladesh is at the bottom of ranking among the countries of the AsiaPacific, a region which is diverse in entrepreneurship development and offers the greatest potential for economic growth, according to the GEDI report. The United States is at the top position. Of the most populous EU countries, the United Kingdom in 9th place and France in 10th place are among the top ten countries. The other large European countries rank in the middle -Germany is 14th, Poland 34th, and Spain 32nd, followed by Italy in 48th place. The EU countries' relatively weak economic performance over the last decade is poor due to their low level of entrepreneurship; the same applies to Japan, which is placed in the 30th place. Europe is still struggling to create new billion-dollar companies. The Factor-driven countries with low GDPs such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Uganda, and other poor African countries are at the bottom of the entrepreneurship ranking. At the same time, these countries' entrepreneurial