Categories

Self-Reliance And Entrepreneurship
SELF-RELIANCE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

SELF-RELIANCE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

SELF-RELIANCE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Currently, the globe is faced with many socio-economic problems natural and manmade. These problems include climatic change, incurable diseases, unemployment and crimes. The major problem facing the LDC’s (Lowest Developed Countries) is unemployment.

Many Youths and educated personnel are not employed because of lacking job opportunities. Thus, self-reliance and entrepreneurship knowledge has been designed by high learning institutions, Non Governmental Organization NGO’s and Civil Society to impart knowledge, value and skills to Youths and unemployed mass on how they can create job and be self-reliance.

Meaning of self reliance and Entrepreneurship

Self-reliance is the process of being independence or oneself dependence. A self-reliance person is the person with self-reliance behaviors; this means the one who can stand by his/her own feet. This concept has broad meaning which can further be expounded, but when talking on self-reliance is synonymous with self confidence, self decision maker, self-initiator, and self-planer  just mention a few.

Besides of self-reliance also the concept of entrepreneurship should be given. But before going in details who is an entrepreneur. Entrepreneur   means a person who controls other factors of production such as land, labour and capital and expects profit as a reward. In other words, an entrepreneur is a person who initiates, conceptualizes and materializes a business process that is entirely unique and original in modality.

Thus, entrepreneurship comes from the term entrepreneur.    Entrepreneurship is defined as the act of mobilizing or employing and organizing other factors of production while assuming the associated rewards and risks (Olomi, 2009:1). Accordingly people use the term entrepreneurship to refer to starting and running a business. Others even limit the term to starting and running a small business.

Qualities of independent person and an entrepreneur

Besides definition of entrepreneurship and self-reliance, also these concepts have some peculiarities. In other words these peculiarities are what termed as qualities of self-reliant person and an entrepreneur one.

 Qualities of an Entrepreneur and Self-reliant person

Qualities of self-reliant person Qualities of an entrepreneur
i. Independence  person ·  Self directed action
ii. A person who can make own decision without being interfered · Strong need to succeed
iii.    Positive thinking /A person who  always think positively ·  Strong sense of independence
iv. A person who he/she coupled with high ability of problem solving skills · Readiness to take reasonable/calculated risks
v. He/she must be a good leadership and assertiveness · Patient
vi.  A person who  is SMART  organized oriented and planner (Specific Measurable Action Realistic Time) · Identification of opportunities and pro-active person.
vii.  A risk taker · Creativity
· Ability to negotiate
· Self motivation
· Leadership and assertiveness
· Ambitious to get huge success
· The person who is eager to initiate (start up)

· Take responsibilities

What forces people to be self- independence and entrepreneurs?

Active forces or pulling factors

Desire for quick and much money

Unrealistic expectations of becoming wealthy

Desire for fame and recognition

Inability to work with or for others

Not wanting to be accountable to any one

Peer pressure or envy especially when most of your friends are in business.

Reactive forces or pushing factors

Poor prospect of career growth in place of work

Frustration at working place can enhance any individual to be self –independence and entrepreneur.

Feelings of high contribution but low rewards

Job insecurity

Lack of jobs in field of specialization

Loss of job, retrenchment, and retirement.

Generally a self –reliant person can be a good entrepreneur. This is because one among the major quality of an entrepreneur is to be independence. But also, the forces toward initiating business for the two groups are similar. Being self-reliance can trigger factors like taking calculated risks easily, self motivation, avoiding or overcoming hurdles and confidence behavior. Thus, in order to be a good entrepreneur a person should be independence person.

Failure of Tanzania youths to be self -reliant and entrepreneurs

In Tanzania youths present large proportional of population structure. This is an age group ranging from 18-35 years. But many among of this group suffer from devastating poverty and many are unemployed in formal or informal sectors.

Being unemployed, means have no skills of employing themselves which are attained through knowledge of self-reliance and entrepreneurship. This part will try to examine or investigate some reasons which motivates many youths in Tanzania not to be self-reliance and entrepreneurs.

The following are some reasons to why youths in Tanzania are not self-reliant and entrepreneurs:-

Poverty .Youths in Tanzanians as already previously indicated, presents a large proportional of Tanzanian population. But majority of these lacks permanent employment, even those with employment cannotsave or access to financial assistance. Consequently, they become unable to engage in entrepreneurial activities.

Lack of creativity, motivation and confidence, many youth lacks creativity besides they are not motivated to excel in business also are not self-confidence because of dependence. But all of these are in need of self-confidence. For examples, Youths continue to depend on their families even if there are some opportunities. Their behaviors have been cultivated with lack of confidence and life’s discipline. These ultimately, lead many youths to remain poor and lack self-reliance behaviours which hinder entrepreneurship development.

Lack of formal education. Being confidence, self-reliant and hence entrepreneur is in need of certain knowledge, values and skills. You find that many youths are grade seven leavers who have not attained any entrepreneurial knowledge. Lack of entrepreneurial knowledge leads them to lack the courage of self-reliance. However, there are some youths in certain tribes (Chagga, Kinga, Wapemba and Ha) who are naturally entrepreneurs even if they lack formal education.

Many financial institutions provide loans demanding collateral properties. These hinder youths to get loans from some Banks, because they are not accessing to the fixed asset such as buildings, houses and some jewels (ornaments like gold, silver and diamond) .You find that many graduates cannotaccess to loans because they have no collateral. This is a major setback to entrepreneur development in Tanzania.

Unfriendly laws, regulation and Bureaucracy. The legal institution in Tanzania is inflicted with complexities. To get business license in Tanzania is very difficult, besides, it is coupled with Bureaucracy. Additionally, the condition to get premises for rent is not defined properly. But, generally laws and regulations are coupled with corruption. This discourages business environment and henceforth reduces self-reliant and entrepreneurial behaviors in Youths.

Many youths are over-ambition. Many youths think huge business and dreams to possess expensive properties like houses, cars and others luxuries immediately after stating business or employment. This spirits withdraw them from not engaging in micro business with micro-finance. They usually keep wanting for big deals, business and success for long time. Ultimately they end up in illegal business like theft, drug trafficking and crimes of different nature. Over-ambitious behavior discourages self-independence and entrepreneurship as well.

Dependency syndrome. Many countries in the LDC’s (Lowest Developed countries) suffer from dependency on the Western countries for technical assistance, loans, aid and sometime decisions. This behavior has even spread to the common civilians in that countries particularly Youths. Many youths have suffered from dependency on their relatives, parents and guardians. Their dependencies include decisions, finance and basic needs like food, clothes and housing. This behaviors therefore, discourages creativity, confidence, courage and disciplines among of youths and are normally called in Kiswahili watoto wa mamae. totally dependence to their female parents. Many became not self-reliant and can therefore not be entrepreneurs.

Thus, some factors which hinders many youths to be self- reliance and entrepreneurship are   normally caused with youths themselves but others are triggered with government failure to define its policies and prioritize youths in all programs and plans.

Strategies for promoting self-reliance and entrepreneurship in our society

Since entrepreneurship and self-reliance behaviours have yet not developed in Tanzania, or if developed does not meet requirements for resources which are available, market opportunities and generally societal needs. Therefore, some strategies for promoting it should be put in place.

The following are suggested strategies for promoting self reliance and entrepreneurship:-

Encourage entrepreneurial and life skills education. Since self reliance cannotbe separated from entrepreneurial behavior thus the later should be encouraged. This kind of education should start from primary level to tertially level. This will inculcate the entrepreneurial behavior of self-reliance, self motivation, start up, risk taking and ambition to great success. From these peculiarities a self-reliance and entrepreneurship culture will be developed.

Formation of Nguvu Kazi Groups, financial Non Governmental Organization and SACCOS, Nguvu kazi groups are group of several people with intention of accomplishing a certain projects. Thus, youths should be in such groups besides they should form SACCOS (Saving and Credit Cooperative Societies) and other financial non-government organizations, (Olomi 2009:136). In these groups some financial institutions, government and donor countries will inject some soft loans and credit on which youth will be able to access capital for self reliance and entrepreneurial activities.

Proper implementation of National Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP) program. This is a very crucial program to reduce poverty in Tanzania. It is implemented under what is termed as Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS). This is program which seeks to eliminate poverty in Tanzania by 2025. Within the program youths should be given priority because covers large proportional of Tanzania population. These priorities include elimination of gender imbalance, provision of loans to the youths and employment creations by the government. Through this program some youths will be able to be self-reliant and ultimately entrepreneurs.

Elimination of unfriendly laws, regulations and bureaucracy in business development. Unfriendly laws, regulation and complicated bureaucracy hinder a lot the youths to be self-reliant and entrepreneurs. The process taken to get a license and other permits cost a lot of time and money. This hinder youth to engage or start up business and henceforth end not to be entrepreneurs and self-reliant. Thus, the complicated legal framework, bureaucracy and unfriendly regulation should be eliminated.

Elimination of difficulties in a accessing to soft loans and credit especially collateral as well as rechecking the interest rate imposed by financial institutions. Youths normally faces difficulties in acquiring loans. These difficulties includes collateral possession (fixed asset such as land, buildings, jewel and others) but, also the interest rate imposed by some financial institutions such as SACCOS banks and others are very high. This, discourage youth to attain loans and henceforth remain non self-reliant and entrepreneur. Thus, other conditions on loans accessibility should be made and also interest rate should be lowered.

Launching some consultative services, extension of entrepreneurial learning centers, seminars and workshops. Some institutions such as Ministries, High learning institutions and other financial institution should have some departments on which youths will go for consultations, but also, education through seminars, conferences and workshops should be given out to the entrepreneurs. However, at University of Dar-es-Salaam there is solely unit which provide consultation to an entrepreneurs through University of Dar-es-Salaam Entrepreneurship Centre (UDEC).

Self-reliance and entrepreneurship behaviors should be created among individuals. This should start at family, institutional and national level. It is entrepreneurship and self-reliance which can be used by a nation or individuals to eliminate poverty and create employment as well as enhancing development. But it is entrepreneurship and self-reliance behaviors which can lessen dependency, crimes and immoral values such as   prostitution and drug addiction.

REVISION QUESTIONS

1. (a) What is a life skill?

(b) With examples explain why life skill knowledge is very crucial.

2. “Moral values are standard of goods and evils which govern an individual behavior and choices”. In the light of this statement identify some good and bad moral values

3. “Our society is coupled with unaccepted behavior”. In the light of this statement show the indicators of it in our society.

4. Account for moral value erosion in Tanzania.

5. Drug addiction is the mother of eroded moral values. Critically discuss.

6. Explain the consequences of eroded moral values in your society.

7. What should be strategies for maintaining moral values in Tanzania?

8. (a) What is cultural and technological change?

(b)  Assess the effect of cultural and technological change in people moral values

9. What is significance of culture of care and maintenance?

10. (a) Define entrepreneurship

(b) Give any seven (7) qualities of an entrepreneur

11. What are qualities of self-reliance? Give some qualities of a self – reliance person

12. Give reasons to why youths in Tanzania are not entrepreneur.

13. Lack of collateral is the setback to the development of self-reliance and entrepreneurship among of youths in Tanzania. Critically discuss.

14. “How can government do to promote entrepreneurship and self-reliance in Tanzania?”

15. Why proper implementation of NSGRP program can assist in promotion of entrepreneurship and self-reliance.

16. (a) What is leadership?

(b) List and explain quality of a good leader.

17. What are important of a leader portraying leadership ethics?

18. What will be the consequences in the country where political and government leaders do not adhere to leadership ethics

19. Leadership ethics adherence and development are inseparable in any national discuss.

20. Ongoing conflicts in Africa like Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and Ivory Coast are due to lack of leadership ethics among of the political and government leaders. In the light of this statement suggest the way to uplifting leadership ethics in that country.

Read Also  BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY

You cannot copy content of this page