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Entrepreneurship and the Jamaican spirit
Claude Robinson
Sunday Observer , December 10, 2006
Jamaicans, it seems, are entrepreneurial by nature, always looking to start new businesses in response to opportunities. Sometimes it is the pan chicken that begins to simmer even before the sound boxes are hooked up for the session; or a teacher from St Mary whose first trip from Jamaica is to Curacao to buy shoes and fashion for an uncertain market; sometimes it is the business school graduate with a business plan with all the financial and marketing analytical frills.
Claude Robinson
What they share in common and with other risk-takers around the world, is an abundance of confidence in their skills and abilities, alertness to new opportunities and, very importantly, they "rank low on the fear-of-failure scale", according to a group of researchers who have made a study of the entrepreneurial mindset.
The study among 35 selected high and middle-income countries confirms what we see around us all the time - the Jamaican propensity to start his or her own business.
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) study 2005 reported that Jamaica has one of the highest levels of entrepreneurial activity in the world, with some 17 per cent of the adult population, or approximately 391,000 individuals, actively planning or who had recently established a new business.
Compared to other middle-income countries, Jamaica is ahead of Argentina, Chile, Mexico, South Africa and Venezuela in terms of the extent to which early-stage entrepreneurship translates into full-fledged business activity that in turn leads to increased job and wealth creation.
Jamaica's overall rate of entrepreneurial activity compares favourably with countries such as New Zealand, considered among "the world's most entrepreneurial countries", the study concluded.
Data from the GEM study was cited by Colm Delves, Digicel Group CEO, while delivering the keynote address to more than 200 MBA graduates at the Annual Awards Ceremony for the Mona School of Business, UWI on November 29.
The GEM report has been produced annually since 1999 by scholars at Babson College in the United States and London Business School and has developed into one of the world's leading research consortia concerned with improving the understanding of the relationship(s) between entrepreneurial activity and national economic growth.
YING. says entrepreneurial development an important aspect of Mona School of Business's academic programme
Delves's message to the MSB graduates was clear enough: Policy makers, educational institutions and established businesses should nurture the entrepreneurial spirit, given its capacity to create jobs and wealth.
He referred to Digicel's success, which he said "has exceeded everyone's expectations" since its launch in Jamaica in 2001, as an example of what is possible when the entrepreneurial spirit is unleashed.
"From an early stage we recognised this entrepreneurial spirit and transferred this 'DNA' into the company, to create a powerful force that could achieve just about anything," Delves said.
When the telecommunications sector was liberalised in 2000 with the termination of Cable and Wireless' monopoly, the country had a very low mobile penetration rate of 4 per cent in a population of 2.7 million.
Now, five years later, 76 per cent of the population has a mobile phone, making it one of the highest penetrated countries in the western hemisphere, and Digicel is the market leader in that sector.
The majority of the Digicel management team are graduates of the University of the West Indies, while he estimated that at least 80 per cent of the staff have university degrees or diplomas. He attributed much of the success in Jamaica and the 22 other countries of the region in which the company has been established to the quality of the Jamaican workforce.
"To have such an entrepreneurial spirit bodes well for a nation's future, and as in the Digicel example, the success of enterprises. Caribbean governments, financial institutions, investment agencies and educational and training institutions such as the Mona School of Business, must continue to provide more incentives and programmes to encourage this entrepreneurial spirit."
According to Professor Neville Ying, executive director of Mona School of Business, entrepreneurial development was an important aspect of the school's academic programme, with students given the opportunity to develop ideas into potential businesses and to interact with proven entrepreneurs like Karl Hendrickson.
I agree with an observation by the Digicel CEO that entrepreneurship is as much a part of Jamaican life as is reggae music.
Lack of Investment Capital
The irony is that neither is contributing to its potential - ideas are not sufficiently supported by capital and know-how, and the music remains an activity mostly for artistes and creative talent but attracts little business acumen and investment.
Interestingly, the GEM study pointed out that "one of the biggest problems facing Jamaican businesses today is the lack of investment capital". Furthermore, "Many Jamaicans feel that there is corruption in the public sector that has strong negative influence on investment rates".
The study noted that the Government has been taking steps to "reduce these fears" and, no doubt, these will have to be intensified.
Given the vast wealth held by Jamaicans in Jamaica and abroad - it is said that Jamaicans own most of the international reserves in the Bank of Jamaica but have not been investing in the real economy - preferring instead to chase government paper, which has been yielding high rates of return for many years.
Now that the rates are trending down, it will be interesting to see whether there will be a spurt in investment in non-traditional sectors like reggae music, culture and entertainment, health services, telecommunications and the services that the millions of visitors coming to Jamaica will need.
The Spanish invasion - on top of the home-grown entrepreneurship shown by successful businessmen like 'Butch' Stewart, John Issa and many others - is a clear sign that this industry will be a major part of our economic landscape for a long time.
Yet, there seems to be under-investment in all the linkages to this sector - everything from attractions and tours to community tourism and furniture and fixtures for the thousands of hotel rooms under construction. I have never quite understood why. Maybe it is a fixation with tradition.
But, as Delves correctly pointed out, the Caribbean region is at a development crossroads and its member nations must take "significant and concrete steps to improve productivity and competitiveness and face up to more global competition if they are to accelerate or maintain fast growth". This is according to a recent World Bank report titled 'A time to choose: Caribbean Development in the 21st Century', which concludes that the region "needs to move beyond decades of reliance on traditional markets and trade preferences to swiftly adapt to diversity into new sources of growth".
Jamaica and the Caribbean have many natural advantages to exploit, including location, environment, political stability and the democratic traditions.
The 'Time to Choose' report outlines two additional critical inputs to aid and stimulate growth - the need for more effective use of information communications technology (ICT) as an essential ingredient for improving competitiveness; and enhancing the skills base of the labour force to compete in the 21st century.
Chances are that Caribbean policymakers will do what is required "to facilitate access and create a more competitive telecommunications sector, provide support services for firms and accelerate regional harmonisation in key policy areas related to ICT".
Getting the workforce up to speed will be a taller order for a country like Jamaica, unless the Government finds a way to make the educational transformation work although business schools will encourage the spirit of entrepreneurialism.
And the intrepid Jamaican souls in search of opportunity will remain undaunted by lack of investment capital, family business tradition or a policy environment that needs to be more supportive.
Claude Robinson
Sunday Observer , December 10, 2006
Jamaicans, it seems, are entrepreneurial by nature, always looking to start new businesses in response to opportunities. Sometimes it is the pan chicken that begins to simmer even before the sound boxes are hooked up for the session; or a teacher from St Mary whose first trip from Jamaica is to Curacao to buy shoes and fashion for an uncertain market; sometimes it is the business school graduate with a business plan with all the financial and marketing analytical frills.
Claude Robinson
What they share in common and with other risk-takers around the world, is an abundance of confidence in their skills and abilities, alertness to new opportunities and, very importantly, they "rank low on the fear-of-failure scale", according to a group of researchers who have made a study of the entrepreneurial mindset.
The study among 35 selected high and middle-income countries confirms what we see around us all the time - the Jamaican propensity to start his or her own business.
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) study 2005 reported that Jamaica has one of the highest levels of entrepreneurial activity in the world, with some 17 per cent of the adult population, or approximately 391,000 individuals, actively planning or who had recently established a new business.
Compared to other middle-income countries, Jamaica is ahead of Argentina, Chile, Mexico, South Africa and Venezuela in terms of the extent to which early-stage entrepreneurship translates into full-fledged business activity that in turn leads to increased job and wealth creation.
Jamaica's overall rate of entrepreneurial activity compares favourably with countries such as New Zealand, considered among "the world's most entrepreneurial countries", the study concluded.
Data from the GEM study was cited by Colm Delves, Digicel Group CEO, while delivering the keynote address to more than 200 MBA graduates at the Annual Awards Ceremony for the Mona School of Business, UWI on November 29.
The GEM report has been produced annually since 1999 by scholars at Babson College in the United States and London Business School and has developed into one of the world's leading research consortia concerned with improving the understanding of the relationship(s) between entrepreneurial activity and national economic growth.
YING. says entrepreneurial development an important aspect of Mona School of Business's academic programme
Delves's message to the MSB graduates was clear enough: Policy makers, educational institutions and established businesses should nurture the entrepreneurial spirit, given its capacity to create jobs and wealth.
He referred to Digicel's success, which he said "has exceeded everyone's expectations" since its launch in Jamaica in 2001, as an example of what is possible when the entrepreneurial spirit is unleashed.
"From an early stage we recognised this entrepreneurial spirit and transferred this 'DNA' into the company, to create a powerful force that could achieve just about anything," Delves said.
When the telecommunications sector was liberalised in 2000 with the termination of Cable and Wireless' monopoly, the country had a very low mobile penetration rate of 4 per cent in a population of 2.7 million.
Now, five years later, 76 per cent of the population has a mobile phone, making it one of the highest penetrated countries in the western hemisphere, and Digicel is the market leader in that sector.
The majority of the Digicel management team are graduates of the University of the West Indies, while he estimated that at least 80 per cent of the staff have university degrees or diplomas. He attributed much of the success in Jamaica and the 22 other countries of the region in which the company has been established to the quality of the Jamaican workforce.
"To have such an entrepreneurial spirit bodes well for a nation's future, and as in the Digicel example, the success of enterprises. Caribbean governments, financial institutions, investment agencies and educational and training institutions such as the Mona School of Business, must continue to provide more incentives and programmes to encourage this entrepreneurial spirit."
According to Professor Neville Ying, executive director of Mona School of Business, entrepreneurial development was an important aspect of the school's academic programme, with students given the opportunity to develop ideas into potential businesses and to interact with proven entrepreneurs like Karl Hendrickson.
I agree with an observation by the Digicel CEO that entrepreneurship is as much a part of Jamaican life as is reggae music.
Lack of Investment Capital
The irony is that neither is contributing to its potential - ideas are not sufficiently supported by capital and know-how, and the music remains an activity mostly for artistes and creative talent but attracts little business acumen and investment.
Interestingly, the GEM study pointed out that "one of the biggest problems facing Jamaican businesses today is the lack of investment capital". Furthermore, "Many Jamaicans feel that there is corruption in the public sector that has strong negative influence on investment rates".
The study noted that the Government has been taking steps to "reduce these fears" and, no doubt, these will have to be intensified.
Given the vast wealth held by Jamaicans in Jamaica and abroad - it is said that Jamaicans own most of the international reserves in the Bank of Jamaica but have not been investing in the real economy - preferring instead to chase government paper, which has been yielding high rates of return for many years.
Now that the rates are trending down, it will be interesting to see whether there will be a spurt in investment in non-traditional sectors like reggae music, culture and entertainment, health services, telecommunications and the services that the millions of visitors coming to Jamaica will need.
The Spanish invasion - on top of the home-grown entrepreneurship shown by successful businessmen like 'Butch' Stewart, John Issa and many others - is a clear sign that this industry will be a major part of our economic landscape for a long time.
Yet, there seems to be under-investment in all the linkages to this sector - everything from attractions and tours to community tourism and furniture and fixtures for the thousands of hotel rooms under construction. I have never quite understood why. Maybe it is a fixation with tradition.
But, as Delves correctly pointed out, the Caribbean region is at a development crossroads and its member nations must take "significant and concrete steps to improve productivity and competitiveness and face up to more global competition if they are to accelerate or maintain fast growth". This is according to a recent World Bank report titled 'A time to choose: Caribbean Development in the 21st Century', which concludes that the region "needs to move beyond decades of reliance on traditional markets and trade preferences to swiftly adapt to diversity into new sources of growth".
Jamaica and the Caribbean have many natural advantages to exploit, including location, environment, political stability and the democratic traditions.
The 'Time to Choose' report outlines two additional critical inputs to aid and stimulate growth - the need for more effective use of information communications technology (ICT) as an essential ingredient for improving competitiveness; and enhancing the skills base of the labour force to compete in the 21st century.
Chances are that Caribbean policymakers will do what is required "to facilitate access and create a more competitive telecommunications sector, provide support services for firms and accelerate regional harmonisation in key policy areas related to ICT".
Getting the workforce up to speed will be a taller order for a country like Jamaica, unless the Government finds a way to make the educational transformation work although business schools will encourage the spirit of entrepreneurialism.
And the intrepid Jamaican souls in search of opportunity will remain undaunted by lack of investment capital, family business tradition or a policy environment that needs to be more supportive.