Is the African Entrepreneur Invincible?

A short while ago, i read an article titled Who is killing African Entrepreneurship? The article can be found at http://appfrica.com/2010/08/15/whos-killing-african-entrepreneurship/ and discusses the ideas of two well known writers.

The ideas are interesting but fail to see the entrepreneur as a living breathing possibly conniving business animal.

Let me explain. The survival instinct is very interesting in the sense that it can cause the release of energies or the harnessing of mental resources not common to everyone else. What this means for the African is that the vast majority of people that you meet whether they are employed or not have some business idea up their sleeve. The NGO driver that you talked about is not some passive observer in a complex net of western domination, rather he has a plan larger than you can imagine. He probably spends a considerable amount of time reading some of the documents from the organization and talking to the foreigners he ferries around the city. Give him a few years and he will have an NGO of his own.

The hard working civil servant is no different. While his or her heart seems to focus intently on serving the government, there is often a small business that receives a fraction of his paycheck.

The Entrepreneur has not lost his essence now that he has a job...he is in a state of hibernation. He simply slows down the metabolic forces of his business mind in order to achieve another goal-the need for capital. In the meantime he also has the opportunity to learn from the organization that has hired him. Once in a while he visits the accounting department and is able to figure out what he needs in place for a basic accounting system. In a sense he is not the victim that he seems appear to be-he has a plan.

It should also be noted that American businesses are not immune from similar temptations. There are many small businesses that start well and begin to make a profit. After a few years in the business, some bigger business sees some potential in these ventures. Papers are signed,photos are taken lentil soup is traded for a birthright. Similar challenge different continent.

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