Entrepreneurship

Key unit competence: To be able to analyses the desirable characteristics and role of an entrepreneur.

Welcome to Entrepreneurship in Secondary 1! This year you will gain many new skills that will help you make important choices for a successful future.

Your community is made up of many different people that fill different roles. Farmers work in rural areas, tourist guides in national parks and bankers work in towns. Each person fills an important role.

1. In a few years, it will be your turn to select a role. What would you like to do when you finish your studies? Why would you like to do this work?

2.  Describe the work that you would like to do and share your ideas with the class.

3.  Imagine that it is twenty years into the future. Pretend that you are working in the role that you wanted when you were at school. Tell the class about your future life.

Why do we study entrepreneurship?

Life in Rwanda has changed over the past twenty years. Many new shops and banks have opened in Kigali. Tourists visit to see our wildlife, like the mountain gorilla. People are healthier and living longer.

Today, people have better jobs and more money, but there are still many poor people in Rwanda. Many rural people work hard to make a living and in the city it can be difficult to find work.

In Entrepreneurship you will learn how to create a better tomorrow by starting new businesses that can provide jobs and improve life in Rwanda.

The concept of entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is the process of starting and running a business. This process starts with a good idea. The idea can be to sell something that solves a problem, for example, selling umbrellas when it rains. The business can sell a product or a service. The business can be as small as one person (the entrepreneur) selling vegetables at a market or as large as a business employing thousands of people.

Next, you need to use the idea to plan and develop the business. Finally, the business needs to sell the product or the service to customers to make money. A successful business must make more money than it spends. The difference between the money earned and the money spent is called profit.

Entrepreneurs use brainstorming to produce ideas and find ways to solve problems. When we brainstormwe write down as many ideas and facts as possible

In class, brainstorm the following:

1. Think of businesses that have solved problems in your community.

2. Which products or services do they offer?

3. How many different types of businesses did you find?

Who is an entrepreneur, an intrapreneur and an enterprising person?

An entrepreneur is a person who uses an idea to start and run a business in the hope of making a profit. He or she is the owner of the business. It is the entrepreneur who is responsible for the success or failure of the business.

Many people have good ideas and important responsibilities, but they are not all entrepreneurs. An enterprising person also has ideas and starts projects. Often an enterprising person is employed by a company. An intrapreneur is a person who acts as an entrepreneur for a company. The company asks the intrapreneur to come up with ideas. If the project is a success, the intrapreneur makes a profit for the company. The company is therefore responsible for the success or failure of the project.

Case study activity

Read the case study ‘Success stories in Rwanda’. Then answer the questions.Success stories in RwandaRwanda is filled with success stories. Read about three successful Rwandans.

1. Ishimwe Claudien Ngezahayo from Kicukiro develops new software programs (the programs used by a computer). He works for Jembi Health Systems where he develops software for Rwanda Health Enterprise Architecture, a project that aims to improve health care in Rwanda.

2. Eric Kabera is a journalist and filmmaker. He is famous for producing films such as the documentary 100 days. He is the president of the Rwanda Cinema Centre (RCC). This organisation teaches film-making to young people and organises the annual Rwanda Film Festival.

3. Jean-Phillippe Kayobotsi worked for large corporations and studied abroad. Today, he is the owner of Brioche, a bakery and coffee shop. He started the business a few years ago and now owns four shops in Kigali.

Questions

1. Describe the responsibilities of Ishimwe Claudien Ngezahayo.

2. Is Mr Ngezahayo an entrepreneur, an enterprising person or an intrapreneur? Provide a reason for your answer.

3. Why can you say that Eric Kabera is an enterprising person?

4. What idea did Jean-Phillippe Kayobotsi have a few years ago?

5. Is Jean-Phillippe Kayobotsi an entrepreneur? Explain your answer.

6. Do you think that enterprising persons often become entrepreneurs? Explain your answer.

Entrepreneurs who are successful make a difference in their communities by providing goods and services, employing people and growing their businesses. However, it is also challenging to be an entrepreneur.

An entrepreneur needs many different qualities and characteristics to succeed.

This person has the characteristics of a good entrepreneur.

These qualities include:

• innovative – finds new and creative solutions; able to find viable business opportunities

• risk-taker – takes personal and financial risks when starting a business

• decision-maker – makes many important decisions about the business and finances

• persistent – does not give up; willing to persevere and continues to work hard in spite of difficulties

• determined – motivated to succeed

• hard working – works long hours.

Imagine the following. You have just returned from a trip to Nyungwe National Park. During your stay you discovered that a small plant has properties that can help relieve stomach ache. You have collected samples and want to grow and sell your new medicine for stomach-aches in Rwanda and abroad. As an entrepreneur you are very excited about this opportunity, but you know that you need the characteristics of a good entrepreneur to be successful.

A successful entrepreneur finds solutions to problems.

1. Copy the table below. Describe the characteristics of a good entrepreneur in your own words with a partner.

2. Explain to your partner how you will use each of these characteristics to create a successful business.

Complete an assessment of your personal entrepreneurial characteristics.

1. Copy the table on the following page.

2. Compare the characteristics of a good entrepreneur in the first column with your own skills and qualities. When you can recognise a characteristic as one of your qualities, tick the box in the column with the heading ‘This is what I am good at’. If you do not have the quality, then tick the box ‘This is what I need to learn’.

3. For every tick in ‘This is what I need to learn’ explain how you are going to learn the characteristic.

4. Write a report and explain how you assessed your characteristics. Describe your findings and include the following information:

a) Why you feel that you have or lack a specific characteristic.

b)Why the characteristics are important for you as an entrepreneur.

c) List your ideas on how to develop the characteristics that you currently lack.

Roles of an entrepreneur in entrepreneurship

An entrepreneur needs to fill many roles. To be successful, an entrepreneur must:

• scan the environment

• identify business opportunities

• find and allocate necessary resources

• set up and manage the business.

Scanning the environment

After school, walk through your local town or village. Can you identify a need for a business? Often an entrepreneur finds business opportunities because of a problem.

Case study activity

Read the case study about a company called The Office and discuss the questions that follow.

‘The Office’ solves a problem

The economy in Kigali is growing. There are many business opportunities but entrepreneurs often find the rent of office space too high. They also do not have a place to meet other business contacts or customers. This problem became a new opportunity for a business simply called The Office.

The Office rents communal office space to entrepreneurs where they can meet with customers and other business people. There is access to the Internet, mail collection and a conference room. The Office also offers business training.

This vibrant space offers a solution for Kigali’s new entrepreneurs.

Questions

1. Does The Office sell a service or a product? Explain your answer.

2. Which problem did The Office identify?

3. How did The Office solve this problem for customers?

4. Do you think that a business like The Office could be successful in a rural area? Explain your answer.

5. Let’s say that you could start a business next door to The Office. What service or product would you sell? 

Identifying business opportunities

A business opportunity needs to:

• meet a need of customers

• be different from the competition

• complement your skills and interests.

Matching the needs of customers

We do not all buy the same things. The people that entrepreneurs sell products or services to are called customers. It is important that we learn as much as we can about our customers.

We are all very different. With a partner, compare the things that you like. Do you like the same music, snacks, films, clothing brands and sports?

We call customers that are likely to buy a product or service our target market. To describe a target market, we divide people into small groups (or segments) with similar characteristics.

Select a demographic quality to describe the target market for the following businesses.

1. A publisher starts a new magazine that covers music, fashion wear and art.

2. A manufacturer produces dolls with a range of clothes.

3. A store sells farming equipment and seeds.

Business opportunities and competition

All businesses have competition. Competitors are businesses that sell the same or similar product or service.

At the local market, for example, there is more than one stall that sells plantains.

A competitor can also sell an alternative. For example, if you sell tickets to a dance show on Saturday, then your competition might be the cinema that sells tickets to a film that is showing at the same time.

People must decide what to spend their money on and you need to find a reason why customers should buy your product or service.

A business that complements your skills

People have many different interests and skills. For example, you may enjoy cooking. To discover business opportunities for your skills, you can draw a mind map. The skill or interest is in the centre.

Each branch is a business opportunity for using this skill to start a business. Each branch has further branches with business ideas.

A mind map can show business opportunities.

1. Copy the mind map above. Complete the mind map and fill in business opportunities for a person that likes cooking.

2. Make a list of your skills and interests.

3. Create a mind map to discover how you can use your skills and interests to start a business.

1. Explain why entrepreneurs are important for the future of Rwanda.

2. Look for three successful businesses in your community, for example, a bakery, a farm or a garage workshop. Contact the owner of each business and ask if you can interview him or her. You can ask questions such as:

a) Why did you decide to start your business?

b)How did you start the business?

c) What were some of the difficulties that you faced in starting your business?

d) Which personal qualities did you use to overcome difficulties?

e) Why do you think your business is successful?

3. Present your findings to the class and explain what makes this business successful. If possible, invite the business owner to hear your presentation. Remember to thank the business owner for giving you his or her time.