Entrepreneurship

TOPIC AREA : Entrepreneurial culture

Sub-topic             area Concept of entrepreneurship 

Unit 1                  Roles, benefits and challenges of an entrepreneur Sub-topic area Personal development 

Key unit competence: To be able to analyse the role, benefits and challenges of being an entrepreneur

Welcome to Entrepreneurship in Senior 2! This year, you will build on the skills that you gained in Senior 1. This is where entrepreneurial attitudes and skills will help you make valuable choices for your future.

Entrepreneurs have an interest in the future of their communities. They often play a role in keeping the environment clean, improving education or reducing crime. There are still many poor people in Rwanda. Entrepreneurship can provide job opportunities and is therefore important for improving the future for many Rwandans.

Entrepreneurs fill an important role in their communities. Can you imagine what your community would be like without them?

1. Discuss the role of entrepreneurs in your community. 

2. What goods or services do they produce? 

3. What would happen if they were not there?

1.3 Summary of the roles of the entrepreneur

Entrepreneurs find solutions to problems or new ideas for products and services to develop enterprises. The Enterprises provide goods and services to households. In turn, households provide labour. Entrepreneurs therefore have an important role in social economic development. Entrepreneurs also participate in government communal activities such a Umuganda and contribute to Mutual Health Insurance (Mituelle de sante).

1.4 Entrepreneurs and socio-economic development

Entrepreneurs contribute to socio-economic development by providing jobs and growing the economy in a community. When an entrepreneur develops a business from a new idea, they ensure that Rwanda’s economy is growing. Businesses pay taxes to the government. These taxes are used to provide a better life for all Rwandans as the government builds roads and schools. Entrepreneurs therefore have a very important role in the socio-economic development in a country.

1.5 Benefits and challenges of being an entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is a person who starts a new business. The entrepreneur aims to make a profit and grow the business. The entrepreneur is also responsible for the risks involved with running the business.

1.5.1 Benefits of being an entrepreneur

Many entrepreneurs are successful people. They make a difference in their communities by employing people and growing their businesses. They also help support and grow the economy. Some of the benefits of being an entrepreneur include:

 • increased income – the more work you put into your business, the more money you receive 

• self-reliance – relies on one’s own judgement and capabilities

 • independent decision making – making a sound/decision on your own 

• improved status – improved social or professional standing. 

Successful entrepreneurs make a good living. They can earn more money than an employee in a business.

This means that they can buy a better home, provide better education for their children and have more savings for retirement. An entrepreneur makes their own decisions. As the entrepreneur grows the business, they grant a reputation as a successful business person. The improved status of being a successful entrepreneur also increases your self-esteem.

1.5.2 Challenges of being an entrepreneur Entrepreneurs

 often work very hard to become successful. Sometimes, even though they work hard, their new business can fail. Some of the challenges of being an entrepreneur include: 

• long and irregular working-hours when you work outside normal daytime hours on weekdays 

• high risk –high level of uncertainty or danger 

• uncertain income – you are unable to predict your future business profits 

• no fringe benefits – benefits like pension, leave pay and medical insurance.

Exercise 1.2 

Compare the risks and benefits of entrepreneurs and employees 

A Venn diagram shows the relationship between two different groups of things. This diagram is useful when you want to contrast and compare items. To create a Venn diagram, draw two overlapping circles.

Let us say that you want to compare living creatures. Add creatures with two legs in the one circle and creatures that can fly in the other. Some creatures have two legs and can fly (for example, birds). Add these in the overlap.

1. Use a Venn diagram to compare challenges faced by entrepreneurs and employees. Add the challenges of entrepreneurs to one circle and the challenges of employees to the other. Write common challenges in the overlap.

 2. Draw a second Venn diagram to compare the benefits of entrepreneurs and employees. 

3. Present your findings to the class.

Activity 1.3

 1. Arrange an interview with a local entrepreneur. Discuss how he or she overcomes challenges faced by the business. Ask what his or her future plans and goals are. 

2. Prepare a presentation to your class about your chosen entrepreneur. 

3. Invite the entrepreneur to the presentation and remember to say thank you after the presentation.

Exercise 1.3 

Your community ‘before and after’

 Many fashion magazines invite people to apply for a makeover. In a makeover, stylists and makeup artists use their skills and knowledge to transform a person. The ‘new look’ often includes new fashionable clothes, makeup and a new hairstyle. The article will include a ‘before’ and ‘after’ picture to show the difference that the makeover made. 

1. Look around in your community. How can you give it a makeover? 

2. Identify entrepreneurial activities that you can start in your community. 

3. Describe the impact that your entrepreneurial activities will have on yourself and your community. 

4. Draw a picture that shows the ‘before’ and ‘after’ of your community makeover.

Unit summary 

The role of an entrepreneur 

• Entrepreneurs create jobs within their communities. 

• Jobs can be direct where an entrepreneur employs a person or indirect where the entrepreneur’s business brings customers to a community and this will in turn create other jobs.

 • The main aim of an entrepreneur is to create a business and then to make a profit.

 • Households provide their labour to businesses. 

• Entrepreneurs play an important role in the economy. 

The benefits and challenges of being an entrepreneur 

• The benefits of being an entrepreneur include self-reliance, increased income, independent decision making, and improved status. 

• The challenges of an entrepreneur include long and irregular working hours, uncertainty of income, no fringe benefits and high risks.

 • Households give their labour to businesses. 

• Businesses provide services and products to households.

Self-assessment      

Read the article and answer the questions that follow. A passion for art translates into positive change Haute Baso is a Rwandan success story. The business is one of the youngest companies chosen to exhibit its handmade items at the annual meeting of the African Development Bank. The two young founders, Linda Mukangoga and Candy Basomingera, believe that it is Rwanda’s unique designs that are the strength of their company. Haute Baso works with locally trained artisans at cooperatives. Here they produce handmade items using raw materials sourced from within Africa. Design businesses in Rwanda face many different problems. Two such problems are finding reliable tailors and sourcing raw materials. When the founders met to discuss solutions they realised that ‘two heads are better than one’. The result was a successful partnership that allows both women to realise their dreams. Source:

                                                            http://haiafrika.com/haute-baso-two-heads-better-one/ ;     

1. Describe how the two entrepreneurs addressed challenges faced by the business.

 2. What are the benefits of starting Haute Baso for the two entrepreneurs? 

3. Haute Baso employs many female artisans. Research has shown that women spend most of their income on their children’s education, health and nutrition. Explain how employing women can make a long-term positive change to Rwanda. 

4. Haute Baso was featured in the East African Weekly for their participation in the biannual Kigali Pop Up. How do you think that an invitation to exhibit and feature in a magazine affects the status of entrepreneurs in their community?

 5. What are the likely challenges faced by Haute Baso?