Entrepreneurship support - the new kid in town

Written By Alice Nkulikiyinka

PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT and #entrepreneurship support, in particular, seem to attract all the buzz in the world of development aid. Only ten years ago, entrepreneurship support wasn't well developed in #Rwanda. However, since things have moved fast, almost all major donor countries, alongside private development partners, choose entrepreneurship support as a vehicle to achieve job creation and private sector development.

In reaction, a plethora of organisations now offer a wide range of entrepreneurship support services, going from short pieces of training for university students to help them start up a business; over technical experts flying in to offer highly specialised support; to comprehensive programmes providing a complete mentorship program aimed at catapulting promising businesses into major industry players. A recent study by the Ministry of Trade and Industry surveyed about 70 Business Development Service (BDS) providers currently active in Rwanda.

Working in entrepreneurship support myself, I welcome these initiatives. Entrepreneurship support is a prime example of the transition from charitable aid to a new international collaboration model focusing on transformational change and long-term impact. The appeal is obvious. Entrepreneurship support helps people to help themselves, thus contributing to the self-reliance of countries. Still, we should be careful not to fall into the trap of believing that we have finally discovered the magic formula for successful development aid. The field of entrepreneurship support is just as tricky as any other type of development aid and has just as many pitfalls.

One pitfall is believing that macro-level solutions will automatically translate into micro-level solutions. This is not the case. As UNCTAD states in their Entrepreneurship Policy Framework and Implementation Guidance report: 'Donors' work with concepts of Private Sector Development which are highly abstract, treat developing countries' private sectors as a tabula rasa, and focus mainly on macro level preconditions'. It is essential to pay attention to the specific cultural and historical context in which these policies are implemented. Much on-the-ground adaptation is needed to make things work.

Another pitfall is the belief that ...

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