Fostering Entrepreneurship - University of Novi Sad · • Fostering interaction between entrepreneurs is a major focus to support learning from one another • Mentors are an important

Fostering Entrepreneurship:Process & Principle

25-26/10/2014 Podgorica

Nick Williams & Tim VorleyUniversity of Sheffield

Peer Learning EventFostering entrepreneurship

There is no single or best way to promote entrepreneurship and foster entrepreneurial mindsets

Fostering entrepreneurship

The challenge for enterprise and entrepreneurship educators is to maximise the impact of the resources they have available

The nature of entrepreneurship

• Entrepreneurial activity is not always a response to business opportunity

• Researchers and commentators distinguish between “opportunity entrepreneurship” and “necessity entrepreneurship”

• Opportunity entrepreneurs are more likely to grow where as necessity entrepreneurs are less likely to do so

• The quality of entrepreneurs is important but hard to gauge


Five dimensions for fostering entrepreneurship


Identify Train Connect Enable Celebrate

The starting points

Answering these key questions can shape what you do, how you do it and most important WHY you do it:

• Why is education/training/support needed?• What type of entrepreneurs will the education/training/support help?• Which of the entrepreneurial components is most needed?• What other organizations may be available to help?• What prior experiences can be leveraged?• What additional resources and materials are available to be used


Effective interventions

• Education, training and support needs to be appropriate• Broad enterprising skills can be taught but entrepreneurial education,

training and support should be self selecting• Education, training and support is important but insufficient without on-

going mentoring and being embedded in wider networks


The identifying and engaging

• The ultimate goal is to identify a group of motivated entrepreneurs and ideas with entrepreneurial potential

• Discover high-growth entrepreneurs capable of establishing “gazelles” -small, rapidly growing companies

• But… the methods used to attract entrepreneurs and the type selected significantly vary


Promoting awareness


Business Plan Competitions

Social & networking

events

Training events

Word of mouth


Education and Training

• The nature of enterprise and entrepreneurship education training is a widely debated topic

• Agreement around in improving the ability of entrepreneurs to write a business plan or preparing projections

• Contested as to whether you can teach entrepreneurial spirit or the willingness to take risks

• Entrepreneurship training programs may also be very narrow in the selection of the target group


The design of education & training


SubjectSOFT SKILLS or

TECHNICAL

ScopeSCOPE vs BREADTH

Format ONLINE or

CLASS-BASED

Example Projects

An open focus course (with credit)


Example Projects

An IT focused course with 2 weekend long parts (months apart) supported by webinars


Example Projects

An IT thematically focused (i.e. healthcare, cybersecurity) intensive week long course


Questions of education/training/support design

Things to consider:

1. What is the budget2. Who is the target group3. What is the preferred format4. What is the communication strategy5. How will you monitor and evaluate the outcomes and impacts


Making connections

• Promoting networking and building relationships is an important aspect of education and training

Peer to peer Mentoring Professional network


Building capacity

• Knowledge transfer and exchange is achieved through sharing information, experience, skills, expertise, and tools between parties

• Fostering interaction between entrepreneurs is a major focus to support learning from one another

• Mentors are an important aspect of fostering entrepreneurship:

• Skill based mentors with technical expertise

• Relationship based mentors with general business expertise


Reflections on good connections

• Trust is important in any relationship

• Making the right connections who are able to provide support

• High profile mentors can be excellent (if they are available)

• Skill-based mentoring is most effective with a mentor from the same industry

• Face to face meeting are preferable but videoconferencing is better than a phone call


Enabling entrepreneurship

• Creating better entrepreneurial environments is often beyond a single organisation – there is no silver bullet

• Education and training can provide an important aspect of shaping any entrepreneurial ecosystem

• Formalising business set-up is an important aspect of enabling entrepreneurship

• Incubators and accelerators have an important role in supporting growth


Entrepreneurial cultures and values

• Cultural barriers have stilted entrepreneurship in many countries

• Generational change is now beginning to see a change – no longer disapproval by family members or as corrupt

• Entrepreneurial failure embraced as a point of learning rather than reason for persecution

• Promoting the idea that entrepreneurship is a viable path to success


Celebrating success

• Increasing the visibility of entrepreneurs’ successes is important

• Highlighting the role entrepreneurs play in society increases the likelihood that they will be accepted and that others will become inspired

• Competition winners and other entrepreneurial success stories can be important in raising profile

• Telling the story of an entrepreneur can build a connection with others who may share a similar background or experiences


Leveraging impact and promoting change

• Celebrating success is an important contributor to changing mindsets

• Tailor the choice of entrepreneurs or successes to highlight in accordance with the profile of the audience.

• Local entrepreneurs can prove to be better examples that are more powerful and relevant to local audience (inc small businesses)


Entrepreneurial dimensions

• Fostering entrepreneurship will inevitably involve multiple dimensions either within organisations or in working across organisations

• Certain dimensions are arguably underappreciated – notably the mindsetand entrepreneurship education

• Need to recognise that that education and training without funding and connections does not generally produce resul

• It is critical to get dimension aligned as part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem - is does not necessarily mean that all organizations must work across all dimensions


Peer Learning EventFostering entrepreneurial mindsets

THANK YOU

Documents

Fostering Entrepreneurship - University of Novi Sad · • Fostering interaction between entrepreneurs is a major focus to support learning from one another • Mentors are an important