Guest Viewpoint: Creating a new breed of entrepreneurs

By Shahid Ali Khan

While surfing the net, this site www.zeromillion.com caught my eye and I was amazed to read among many things that the founder of The Entrepreneurs’ Coalition, a non-profit organization dedicated to building an international network of entrepreneurs, and CEO and President of Virante, Inc. a North Carolina-based software development and ebusiness consulting firm is Ryan P. Allis, 20, (meaning he is twenty years old) an economics major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Isn’t that truly wonderful? (That is what most on the other side of the bridge would say. I would put it more like this: “It is down right shameful for us—not because we do not have 20 years olds like Ryan—but because government has not, in more than fifty years been able to create an environment to develop such people”).

What are the grassroot reasons for not been able to provide such a conducive environment? Two nations where created at midnight on August 14 and 15—Pakistan and India. Today India has grown strong, stable and powerful, Pakistan has lost half itself (better or not still remains a debate), it is unstable and still in the process of gathering power. The half which was broken away, now called Bangladesh, has become stable and their Taka which was valued at half of the Pakistani Rupee has become at par (what a shame). Where and how do we intend (or do we?) to change all this to provide for our next generation the opportunities that may create Ryans for Pakistan?

There needs to be a systematic approach in creating that economic ecosystem that can induce a culture of approaching tasks in a specialized way (not what is the present state-of-affairs—a chemistry graduate is posted in a purchase department; an master’s degree holder in economics is a secretary at DCMP, etc, etc). Even in the Neolithic Age (some time between 12000 and 10000 B.C.) instead of tribe hunting, different persons within each tribe became experts at a certain task, i.e. hunting, gathering, cooking, tool making, shelter making or clothes making. That created jobs in tool making, pottery making, carpentry, wool making, tool making, and masonry, among others. The specialist created items faster and of a better quality than if each family made its own, thereby increasing the standards of living.

Then in 6000 BC in Mesopotamia (now the modern day Arab world) the barter system was created. However it had an issue from the advent, of both parties wanting to have what the other party had. Then in 2000 BC, Iraq (now, occupied by the US of A) started using money in the form of seashells, tobacco leaves, rocks, etc.

Unfortunately, our world cannot be simplified to quite this degree. Such things as crime, corruption, and market failures do exist.

The way forward: So where do we go from here? Start with some incentives for people who have ideas (not just on TV programs but by making them start that idea into a business). The government needs to take this up on a very high priority, which can lead into a program whereby such people are encouraged to venture-out and take their ideas to reality.

At the time of the independence of the UAE, Pakistan was at the forefront in establishing the methodology of businesses, employment, military and education of that country. Today maybe we need to look up at them and learn. On, October 19, 2004 Sheikh Mohammed bin Rasheed inaugurated The Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business Leaders.

This institute was created in order to offer quality vocational training to UAE nationals. “The vocational schools we are creating under the Academy are designed specifically to provide all the necessary entrepreneurial skill sets in a specific industry. Our aim is to better educate our entrepreneurs of today to become the success stories of tomorrow.” said Abdul Baset Al Janahi, CEO of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business Leaders.

Such institutes can make a difference. Unfortunately, we as Pakistan have never encouraged learning. We need to realize that and think on those lines to be able to contemplate the needs to develop those entrepreneurs, who at this time are doing businesses but lack the educational expertise to take their earning businesses further. Many ideas die away just because that excellent idea could not get the backing and the finances required to get it to the next step.

Sadly, after more then fifty years of a checkered history and more then fifteen odd governments—it seems no one still willing to bell the cat. Well, Bosses, Big Boys and Bellicose bureaucrats wake up, stir yourselves, let us all gather ourselves to prove to ourselves that we still can make a difference for entrepreneurs to grow and establish themselves as the fore-runners of our tiring economy (numbers matters but they will not last forever—hence we need to develop an alternate revenue stream and SMEs is the only way ahead). Steam up in Top Gear—Rab Rakha

Shahid Ali Khan is a marketing & strategy consultant. He can be reached at shahidkhan@ping.com.pk.

Home | Business