Can Entrepreneurs Save The Economy?

Even though foreign direct investment plays a key role in the economy the importance of entrepreneurs and their ability to create jobs is increasingly recognised. As a result, the development of an entrepreneurial culture in both the private and public sectors is vital to the success of the economy.

From a European perspective, entrepreneurs create the majority of jobs and locally the majority of jobs are created by businesses within their first five years of operation.

The number of jobs created by entrepreneurs coupled with their overall contribution to the economy underlines the need to identify areas worthy of support. These include:

  • Entrepreneurship has not always been seen as an attractive career choice, as parents traditionally directed their children into what were seen as safe jobs. This attitude is changing as entrepreneurs tell their stories and the importance of creating jobs is better understood.
  • One of the common barriers people face when they think about starting a business is the fear of failure and how they will cope if it doesn’t work. The idea that early failure presents an opportunity to learn and grow is gaining ground and needs to be embraced within our schools from an early age.
  • Education has a key role to play in introducing entrepreneurial skills to students from primary school to third level. The curriculum at all levels needs to embrace enterprise and involve and engage entrepreneurs to show how job creation benefits people and the economy.
  • Entrepreneurs, particularly in recent years, highlight the difficulty of getting finance as a barrier to starting and growing a business. Luckily, in the absence of an active banking sector, other sources of finance in the form of government initiatives, business angel networks and more recently, thanks to the internet, Crowdfunding are available.
  • Government’s role in supporting entrepreneurs is twofold: it can do things that help and stop doing things that hinder. For instance, government can introduce incentives, supports and rewards to enable entrepreneurs to create more new jobs and reduce taxes and red tape to remove barriers.
  • Finally, there is a need to bring it all together to ensure the culture of education changes; government policy stays focussed on providing the right supports and entrepreneurs are valued within society.

SO, inward investment and the jobs and skills it brings to the economy are vital, as are the jobs created by local entrepreneurs when they start new businesses.

What do you think?

Can entrepreneurs save the economy?

Look forward to seeing you comments below.