Namibia: Entrepreneurship, Education & Emerging Economies

"The secret of building successful nations is not natural resources, but highly developed human resources, which change dead assets into productive resources and enrich the nation with the necessary productivity and efficiency. These are the wealth creators."

- a leading entrepreneur in Namibia

I read a very interesting article today, "Namibia: Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies" about the correlation between entrepreneurship and economic well-being worldwide. The take-home points I gained from this article are: 1.) countries need to encourage and develop people to become entrepreneurs; and 2.) countries must create an environment where it is easy to start a business.

The World Bank released its "Doing Business 2007" report which shows the ease of starting a business in 178 different countries around the world. Predictably, it is easier to set up shop in higher income countries than in lower income ones. Africa is a particularly difficult place to start a business. The World Bank report details the various measures used to determine "ease of business". Licensing and regulations make up a large part of this measure.

Changing the regulations so that it is easier for people to start a business makes sense, for political and economical reasons. With a stronger economy, a more stable political environment usually emerges.

Beyond changing licensing regulations, it seems that one of the most effective ways to achieve positive change is through education, by developing people's minds and people's skills. In this way, people will be equipped with the tools, knowledge, and ingenuity to help solve their own problems.

I think this is why I am so interested in technology. I realize technology is not a be-all-end-all for every problem on earth, but it offers unprecedented access to information, knowledge, and networks of people. And with these resources, it is exciting to imagine how technology can help to accelerate human development.

But is focus on technology and entrepreneurship enough? What about focus on developing social entrepreneurs, in particular? Developing people who not only care about their personal well-being but also about the value their work can bring to their communities?

This, I believe, is one of the real keys to building a successful, and sustainable, nation: to leverage all the resources that technology offers, while at the same time developing social entrepreneurs who work to bring value to their communities in a way that is financially, socially, and environmentally sustainable.