Will We Ride The Waves of Change or Watch Them?
How are we preparing our entrepreneurs to ride the coming waves of change as new global markets emerge and global business giants disappear into oblivion? Do we intend to ride the waves of change as they roll in, or sit, watching from the shore, and hoping that they bring something interesting as the waves break? Good entrepreneur development makes the difference between a spectator and a good sportsman.
COVID has done much more to impact our societies than we see in the epidemiological reports. According to several interpretations of Joseph Schumpeter’s Theory of Creative Destruction, we should currently be at the beginning of a new wave of change which will revolutionise the world. In 2020, this is not hard to believe. Instead the question will be which innovation will be the key to this change. We are witness to constant introduction of new technologies, but very few emerging from entrepreneurs in Trinidad and Tobago, even in the midst of what can arguably be termed a burgeoning local entrepreneur sector.
Very few new businesses in the Caribbean are innovative, according to a report by the Caribbean Development Bank. The authors pointed to a proliferation of businesses made up solely of items and services purchased from larger economies and offered for sale at a markup. Meanwhile, individual and corporate consumers can simply bypass local businesses, and purchase their items directly from the manufacturers’ websites.
Spending Forex Rather Than Earning
This phenomenon has been identified as a major source of forex leakage. Caribbean Ministers of Finance understandably lament the serious implications for economic sustainability and growth attributed to foreign exchange (forex) leakages.
In Trinidad and Tobago, we are all too familiar with the inconveniences of limits on access to forex. We are consistently reflecting on loss of forex and the untold implications these shortages have for our consumer habits.
Yet, we expend considerable amounts of forex on the purchase of foreign sourced food, technology, clothing, other products and services. This, without any discernible coordinated effort to facilitate the birth, growth and development of resilient, innovative businesses which can attract, rather than consume foreign currencies.
Proper Entrepreneur Support Systems Can Help
Trinidad and Tobago lacks the entrepreneur support it needs, as signaled by several reports published by agencies including:
- The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM Report)
- The Caribbean Development Bank (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprise Development in the Caribbean: Towards A New Frontier); and
- The World Bank Group (Doing Business Report).
What we need is well coordinated, coherent, thoughtful and responsive support systems which can guide nascent entrepreneurs on the waves of change through the rough waters of the startup phase into the beautiful blue oceans of successful establishment.
Though some may see this as a critique of public sector policy, this responsibility should not only be shouldered by public sector actors. That being said, legislation, government policy and proper regulation (all of which are well within the government’s domain) all have their part to play in the creation of this environment.
When the next wave emerges or next crisis visits our shores, how will we manage? Where will we be found?
A resilient, innovative and transformational society or a spattering of besieged hamlets, villages and communities? The choice is ours.
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