May 8, 2012, 5:54 am
Azerbaijan – On May 1, Azerbaijan’s Entrepreneurship Development Foundation held a conference in Baku entitled “Roadmap for Developing Small Entrepreneurship.” The conference explored the legal and regulatory barriers facing small businesses in Azerbaijan, and the policy alternatives that could be developed to address them. The 55 participants and speakers included representatives from Parliament, government, think tanks, and business. CIPE Regional Director Andrew Wilson travelled to Baku to speak at the event, and to conduct meetings with local business, policy, and youth groups to explore the challenges faced by young entrepreneurs.
Russia – The Vladikavkaz Institute of Management (VIM), a CIPE partner, on April 28 awarded certificates to 19 students who completed a six-week course designed to give local youth the skills needed to launch a business and fully participate in local democratic institutions. As part of the certificate program, students drafted business plans for business start-ups, the most viable of which will be presented by VIM to the regional economic development authority for possible funding. The start-up ideas range from launching a kindergarten to opening a soccer training facility. The students, ranging in age from 18 to 24, are the fifth group to complete the youth entrepreneurship training program funded under a grant from the National Endowment for Democracy.
Continue reading ‘CIPE Entrepreneurship Update’ »
May 7, 2012, 1:22 pm
The Young Entrepreneurs Group of Asia Pacific (YEGAP) recently released the 10th edition of Entrepreneur Asia-Pacific, highlighting the activities and achievements of members throughout the region. YEGAP was created by the Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CACCI) in 2004 to provide a venue for young entrepreneurs to become actively involved in entrepreneurial development. YEGAP serves to identify effective programs geared towards entrepreneurial development.
Inside this issue:
- Young Entrepreneurs Forum of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry organizes Young Entrepreneurs Conference 2012
- Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry launches Youth Affairs Committee
- Youth empowerment and entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka
- Organic agriculture in Bangladesh
Continue reading ‘Entrepreneur Asia-Pacific, 10th Edition’ »
April 27, 2012, 6:34 am
Last week CIPE announced the winners of the Fourth Annual International Youth Essay Competition. An international panel of judges including partners from business associations, think tanks, and other international development organizations selected nine winning essays from a collection of over 400 submissions.
Topics addressed under this year’s competition included corruption, democratic transitions, and economically-sustainable development. CIPE received essays from over 65 countries including Afghanistan, Cambodia, Cameroon, Egypt, Indonesia, Moldova, and Uganda.
The first place essay in the Economically-Sustainable Development category came from one of CIPE’s partner organizations in Nepal, Samriddhi. Written by Sarita Sapkota, the 1st place essay analyzes the history of development aid in Nepal. Arguing that development projects funded by outside donors has created “huge machinery that needs a lot of resources to sustain but in effect contributes [a] negligible amount in terms of impact.” Sapkota suggests that Nepal should instead look to the enthusiasm and energy of young Nepalis to create innovative and sustainable models for long term development.
For a complete list of the nine winners and short summary of each article, visit the CIPE Development Blog. Continue reading ‘CIPE Announces Winners of Fourth Annual Youth Essay Contest’ »
April 26, 2012, 5:06 am
[If you're in Washington, hope you can make it. We'll capture the event for our online audience...]
Please join the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) for a luncheon discussion featuring:
Daniel Cordova, Instituto Invertir
Arpita Nepal, Samriddhi, the Prosperity Foundation
Miriam Kornblith, National Endowment for Democracy
with comments by:
Ambassador Harold Forsyth (invited), Embassy of Peru in the United States
John D. Sullivan, Center for International Private Enterprise
RSVP here
Across the world, countries are grappling with challenges of social and economic inclusion Continue reading ‘Democracy, Entrepreneurship, and the Inclusion of Youth’ »
April 10, 2012, 10:54 am
Originally posted on the CIPE Development Blog
Participants at the Young Entrepeneurs’ Forum event. (Photo: CIPE Staff)
“The Young Entrepreneurs’ Forum is committed to addressing the prevalence of barriers that prevent aspiring entrepreneurship from taking the first step towards an entrepreneurial career” – Shaban Khalid, Chairman, YEF.
Promoting entrepreneurship is an important priority for Pakistan’s economic development. According to Global Entrepreneurship Monitor’s 2010 report, Pakistan lags in startups, with less than half the rate of early-stage entrepreneurial activity found in other factor-driven economies. Part of the problem is that most young people coming out of universities prefer searching for a job instead of exploring entrepreneurial career opportunities – one of the key findings of CIPE-P@SHA dialogue with students and start-ups. Even young people who choose to enter paid employment often have trouble finding a job, are badly paid, or wind up in casual or informal jobs, according to the World Bank.
To help encourage a more entrepreneurial spirit among young people, the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently organized a major conference for young entrepreneurs focusing on the theme of “Inspiring a New Wave of Entrepreneurship,” part of the Young Entrepreneurs’ Forum. Established in 2008, the goal of the Forum is to encourage young entrepreneurs to take on a role in policy advocacy and nurturing the next generation chamber leadership. The conference was sponsored by the US Embassy, with additional support from CIPE Pakistan. Continue reading ‘Promoting Youth Entrepreneurship in Pakistan’ »
April 9, 2012, 7:45 am
Nigeria’s entrepreneurs are expressing a good deal of optimism, according to a recent survey by the Legatum Institute. Indeed, 82 percent of entrepreneurs believe Nigerian society has become more welcoming of entrepreneurship in the past 10 years. Download the Nigeria 2011 survey of entrepreneurs.
Some interesting facts from the survey:
- Nigerian entrepreneurs are largely motivated by a desire to be independent (32 percent) or to make a difference (28 percent).
- Contacts with other entrepreneurs form the single greatest source of individual desire to become an entrepreneur (30 percent).
- In the survey, 74 percent of respondents became entrepreneurs out of choice, 23 percent out of necessity, and 3 percent are following family tradition.
- Views of state governments’ performance are higher than views of national government performance. 73 percent reported that state government is doing a good job versus 63 percent reporting that national government is doing a good job.
- Nationally, the most cited factor needed to achieve future growth is to clean up corruption (45 percent).
Continue reading ‘Inside the Minds of Nigeria’s Entrepreneurs’ »
April 1, 2012, 6:57 pm
“Ecosystem” has become the accepted term for describing the full range of conditions needed to support and encourage entrepreneurship. Most people now realize that neither education, financing, nor any other single factor can promote entrepreneurship without consideration for the system in which entrepreneurs function. But now that everyone is using the term “ecosystem,” what exactly does it mean?
Professor Daniel J. Isenberg at Babson College has nicely summarized the elements of an entrepreneurship ecosystem and the ways they play into a strategy to promote entrepreneurship. See his article “The Big Idea: How to Start an Entrepreneurial Revolution” in the Harvard Business Review (June 2010).
Because an ecosystem has many interrelated elements, Isenberg recommends an integrated approach to nurturing entrepreneurship instead of a one-dimensional solution. He tells policymakers to stop focusing on the Silicon Valley model—a product of special circumstances—and to look farther afield at countries such as Chile, Israel, and Rwanda. The countries that have successfully made the leap to entrepreneurial economies have taken advantage of their own local features. Isenberg wisely cautions against artificial attempts to design entrepreneurial clusters.
Continue reading ‘Principles to Jump Start an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem’ »
April 1, 2012, 6:45 pm
Pakistan – This week CIPE and the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry conducted a youth conference on “Inspiring the New Wave of Entrepreneurship.” Over 350 youth participated in the conference where they discussed issues including women’s entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, and building bridges through business-Diaspora linkages. Secretary of State Clinton attended the conference and her remarks can be seen at http://still4hill.com/2012/03/27/video-secretary-clintons-remarks-to-young-entrepreneurs-pakistan
Peru – At the conclusion of EmprendeAhora 2012, Instituto Invertir selected the winner of its democracy video contest. The contest gave participants in the EmprendeAhora program a way to demonstrate what they have learned about democracy and explain in their own way the implications of democracy on society. The winners of the contest hailed from Huancayo, in Junin region. Their winning video can be viewed (in Spanish) at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikmL4w80eAY.
Continue reading ‘CIPE Entrepreneurship Update’ »
March 5, 2012, 9:09 am
Lebanon – CIPE Africa and Middle East Regional Director Abdulwahab Alkebsi and CIPE partner the Development for People and Nature Association (DPNA) met with Minister of Education and Higher Education Hassan Diab to introduce DPNA’s “Fostering Free Enterprise in Youth” entrepreneurship and civic education project. The Minister was enthusiastic about the project and ordered the formation of a committee including DPNA and governmental and civil society representatives to explore options for implementing the project nationwide. Alkebsi and DPNA also conducted a meeting with Layla Fayyad, president of the Center for Educational Research and Development (CERD), the entity responsible for the curriculum in Lebanese schools, to discuss implementation of the curriculum.
Ukraine – The director of a CIPE partner at the Kyiv-based International Institute of Business (IIB), Aleksandr Okunev, played a key role in drafting proposed changes to Ukraine’s law governing limited liability companies. The changes, adopted February 27 by the Ukrainian government’s Cabinet of Ministers, are now being forwarded to parliament for consideration. The amendments would eliminate inconsistencies in existing legislation on limited liability companies. In partnership with CIPE, IIB is implementing a NED-funded project to develop a voluntary code of corporate governance for family-owned businesses.
Continue reading ‘CIPE Entrepreneurship Update’ »
March 2, 2012, 3:29 pm
This article is part of a series of interviews with participants of Instituto Invertir’s EmprendeAhora entrepreneurship and leadership training program in Peru. Read the introduction to the series and Part 1.
In order to promote the EmprendeAhora program and encourage new applicants from throughout Peru, each year CIPE partner Instituto Invertir conducts an extensive promotional campaign in every major regional university. Local teams made up of EmprendeAhora alumni are in charge of distributing materials in their universities and in other youth spaces in their cities (Internet cafes, church, library, etc.). The alumni also give informative talks at universities and speak to the local media. It was through this promotional campaign in the summer of 2010 that Gerson Casas learned about the benefits of EmprendeAhora from Coco D’Azevedo, the 2008 alum profiled in a previous post.
Like Coco, Gerson is from Iquitos, Peru and was drawn to the program for the opportunity to travel to Lima, meet new people, and learn more about being an entrepreneur. After completing the rigorous application process, Gerson was selected to attend EmprendeAhora 2010.
Continue reading ‘Iquitos Part 2: Chocolate, Toys, and Entrepreneurial Dreams’ »
