GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP WEEK – NOVEMBER 13-19, 2023
Global Entrepreneurship Week is a worldwide celebration of entrepreneurship celebrated in the second week of November. People from various countries unite through local, national, and global events to develop solutions for world economic growth. In the late 17th century, Richard Cantillon, an Irish-French economist, initially defined entrepreneurs as risk-takers since they started businesses, taking financial risks to make profits. However, today, entrepreneurs no longer need to hope to make a profit, thanks to the advent of business analytics methods that help forecast the probability of a business being successful by leveraging data.
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP WEEK
It all began in 17000 B.C. New Guinea, when our hunter-gatherer ancestors traded obsidian for essential and non-essential goods; a trade that would continue until the first Agricultural Revolution in 10000 B.C. when domestication of animals and plants began and the building of communities. People then began to specialize in a different economic niche as goods and services were exchanged for other goods and services. With the improvement of specialization and increased trade volumes, communities transformed from small holdings to towns and cities with thousands of people, such as Fertile Crescent, Sumeria, and the city of Uruk.
Human society and entrepreneurship were later shaped by the invention of money around 650 and 600 B.C. as people moved from barter trade to a trust-based economy that valued things like cowries, silver rings, bars, and tobacco leaves.
Later in the 1800s, when machines played a vital role in economic development, capitalism became the ideal economic approach, with people freely allowed to pursue their self-interests to improve society. This led to the rise of great entrepreneurs and innovators such as Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and Henry Ford. In 2008, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation saw the importance of entrepreneurship to global economic welfare and created Global Entrepreneurship Week. Since then, it has grown from a series of events happening just in the U.S. and U.K. to over 165 countries.
FIVE INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ENTREPRENEURSHIP
- Over 500 Million Entrepreneurs
There are 582 million entrepreneurs globally, accounting for 5% of the world's population.
- Entrepreneurship Wave Among Older Adults
Study indicates that people between 40 and 60 started 60% of small businesses.
- Google Is Resourceful
Up to 26% of entrepreneurs Google their problems instead of turning to colleagues or books for advice.
- Land of Entrepreneurs
The United States prides itself as the topmost ranked in enabling climate for business entrepreneurs and developing small businesses.
- Build from Scratch
Over 80 of every 100 businesses in the U.S. were built from the ground up compared to the remaining 20 that were either inherited or purchased.
IMPORTANCE OF THE GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP WEEK
Driver To Innovation
Entrepreneurial individuals such as Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk, among others over time have led to the development of new technology and innovation. They have improved living standards, created evolved societies, and made way for new markets. As we face unprecedented existential crises such as climate change, we will turn to entrepreneurship to help us mitigate and adapt to this crisis.
Recognizes Why Entrepreneurship is Important to Economic Growth
Entrepreneurs create jobs and bring about new and improved products and services through innovative ideas, which has a ripple effect on the economy as more employment opportunities are created, and more qualified workers for industries are developed.
Positive Social Change
Apart from addressing economic issues, it also focuses on sustainability; for example, it could help solve problems of education, water scarcity, and gender equality and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals.
