Entrepreneurship in developing countries; usually a symptom of unemployment.

[Patikno]

I developed countries, entrepreneurship surfaces as a result of ideas, desires a willingness to deliver a product or service to satisfy needs and wants, an improved market share, and as a result, profit maximization.

In developing countries, the reverse is case, entrepreneurship is usually ventured into as a result of unemployment.

You then tend to see too many businesses begin to compete for the same demand, there's little or no innovation in these kind of case, a lot of duplication of the same businesses in this case.

Hence we tend to see real entrepreneurship in developed countries.

Honestly, that is what I have observed in my environment. From what I have seen, many entrepreneurs start businesses out of necessity (including unemployment). After some research, I discovered this term is called "Necessity Entrepreneurship", and "Survival Entrepreneurship" might also be part of it. Well, the same business competition occurs, and I have encountered many cases like this in my area.

I think we can also see similar competition in developed countries, but the level of business may be different from that in developing countries. Furthermore, similar business competition in developed countries may not be as concentrated, meaning there aren't as many cases of similar business competition. IMO, the problem in developing countries is employment. For example, in my country, many people decide to work abroad because it is difficult to find work, especially jobs that can improve one economic standard.

[Satofan44]

You are right there. Entrepreneurs are seen only limited, but majority are only doing business and ride the competition in the same market. That's how I see it in my country, as one of the developing countries where the current economy has been struggling due to wrong governance.

Entrepreneurship is generally considered as more complex compared to traditional business. It has a higher risk and is made for innovation, while doing business alone is simply managing your own business without target of innovation. That's why its more accessible for the people, without putting high efforts on navigating constant, unproven challenges.

Exactly, everyone else who said that these things are also entrepreneurship are just idiots who believe that they are technologically literate after being able to use 5 functions in Microsoft Excel.  99.99% of the businesses in the world have nothing to do with entrepreneurship. 99% of the people who call themselves entrepreneurs are not actually entrepreneurs. It is time to put this bullshit to rest. If you look also at businesses of any kind in any place in the world, you will see that the majority of businesses whether it is in the restaurant industry or in services are very average and have a mediocre offering. Very few are providing high quality services or have an unique offering or concept. This is not about money, it never was. You can find unique small businesses that are more interesting and forward-thinking than the majority of the medium or big ones. It is simply because it is seen as a means of survival, nothing more and nothing less. That is why they don't do anything new, that is why they don't work extra hard as soon as they have had enough revenue. They are lazy, they are surviving, they are not entrepreneurs.

Honestly, that is what I have observed in my environment. From what I have seen, many entrepreneurs start businesses out of necessity (including unemployment). After some research, I discovered this term is called "Necessity Entrepreneurship", and "Survival Entrepreneurship" might also be part of it. Well, the same business competition occurs, and I have encountered many cases like this in my area.

I think we can also see similar competition in developed countries, but the level of business may be different from that in developing countries. Furthermore, similar business competition in developed countries may not be as concentrated, meaning there aren't as many cases of similar business competition. IMO, the problem in developing countries is employment. For example, in my country, many people decide to work abroad because it is difficult to find work, especially jobs that can improve one economic standard.

Which is just a bullshit thing to include people who have fragile egos and no real skills, similar to how these days they tend to call online prostitutes "onlyfans models" or "instagram models". There is no such thing as survival entrepreneurship, those people are not entrepreneurs.

[Faisal2202]

I developed countries, entrepreneurship surfaces as a result of ideas, desires a willingness to deliver a product or service to satisfy needs and wants, an improved market share, and as a result, profit maximization.

In developing countries, the reverse is case, entrepreneurship is usually ventured into as a result of unemployment.

You then tend to see too many businesses begin to compete for the same demand, there's little or no innovation in these kind of case, a lot of duplication of the same businesses in this case.

Hence we tend to see real entrepreneurship in developed countries.

In developing countries, most entrepreneurs don't have access to a safety net like easily getting loans and investors, so they can't always take the risk to fill gaps with new innovations. The chances of new innovations are very low in developing countries, so how could an entrepreneur sell the gap he has just filled with a new innovation?

That's why usually people call themselves entrepreneurs, but they are not creating something new, they are following older entrepreneurs and their businesses after confirming if they are even making any money out of it.

They don't test because of their limited resources, they just repeat what others are doing to make sure they also make some money.

[DrBeer]

Don't blame entrepreneurs in developing countries for starting same businesses over and over again without diverting into something innovative. You don't expect people who are struggling to make ends meet to manage businesses that are not known or in high demands, how will they be able to make daily income and take care of their families. Developed countries already has many individuals who doesn't depend on their daily income to earn a living, some can stay months without selling a product and they will be fine but in the developing countries they can't be patient to wait for months before they can sell a product which is why most of them are only concerned about products they can market within a short period of time and achieve their profits.

The problem is that for developing or poor countries, the easiest way to start a business is to sell essential goods and services-hair salons, clothing repairs, bread, meat, kerosene, and similar low-cost goods and services (which must be affordable) with regular demand. Innovative solutions typically require additional costs and lack an established consumer base, and in “poor markets,” such a base may either fail to emerge at all or emerge only after a very long time, which is unacceptable 

[sunsilk]

In developing countries, most entrepreneurs don't have access to a safety net like easily getting loans and investors, so they can't always take the risk to fill gaps with new innovations. The chances of new innovations are very low in developing countries, so how could an entrepreneur sell the gap he has just filled with a new innovation?

This is true, it's hard for entrepreneurs in the developing nations to get these quick access loans from the banks and the governments.

They have to prove their business to be profitable first and have to put a clean record for them to be trusted by these lending companies.

It's so hard to them to get that and they have to provide so much documents that many of them find it difficult to comply.

[Kelward]

I tend to agree with you that most people that are not working for somebody else in Africa, and a case study is Nigeria, are business people who cannot classify as entrepreneurs because most of what they do is buying and selling of finished products. Any innovations that you will see in their businesses only comes from the manufacturers and the sad reality is that almost everything that they are buying and selling are from China.

Africa, is a dumping ground for Chinese products so the Chinese are the real entrepreneurs while our business people are the middlemen for their products. Anybody that raises capital will just go into buying and selling of Chinese products and that is why they are not innovative, their business growth are only aimed at increasing sales. They are entrepreneurs mainly in the areas of increasing sales but in terms of productivity they are still lacking behind and partly to blame are the governments who doesn't support entrepreneurship, support of small scale businesses and industrialization.

[uneng]

I see evidence of this where I live by the fact most entrepreneurs are venturing into the exactly same business concepts. In food delivery, for an example, most of them open a pizzeria or a burger shop to offer the exact same products, with the same quality of ingredients. Therefore, there is a lot of competition for the same customers who are looking for the same products.

It's not a creative idea at all. Entrepreneurs have to observe what the market is lacking, at same time they take the preferences and needs of potential customers into consideration. There is still room for food businesses, they just should think beyond pizzerias and burger shops.

[Exitoral]

I agree with you 100%. My agreement is based on where I am from. In Nigeria people become entrepreneurs because of lack of job. Not necessarily to solve a problem. We have duplicate of businesses everywhere without it solving any problem. Most of it are just there for survival. One man business.

I can beat my chest and say most entrepreneurs in Nigeria started their business based on no jobs. If you patronise them, you can see the lack of passion in their eyes with the way they respond to customers. I love what I am doing and I am just doing what is there are two different things.

Funny enough, I am not left out of this. What I really want to do and what I am doing is based on survival. If I do my passion, I go see food chop? All these questions will just be playing in your head and you'll notice quickly that you will change into what will put food on your table rather than going for passion which will eventually pay but will take time.

The truth is that no one can actually innovate when they are in survival mode. So I agree with you. There's no way I will skip food and be thinking of innovation inside hunger. An hungry man is an angry man. How do you expect someone who is angry to innovate?

Things can change. It all depends on who is running the show. You can see developed countries and quickly tell that they do things for their citizens. You can't have a selfish government and think you yourself will have a better living. Bad roads, poor hospital equipment, electricity issue and the list goes on. All that will affect citizens negatively. 

[M47AK16]

The title I think is bias, entrepreneurship doesn't only happens in developed and developing nations. It's everywhere. For every nation that has got a problem, there goes the entrepreneur that solves those problem. And guess what it is, unemployment is also everywhere. So, don't be too dwelling onto that idea that when there are so much entrepreneurs in an area, developed or not, it's caused unemployment because it's not really.

Yeah I agree, but the reasons behind it are different from nation to nation and location to location. We are talking about countries, but I would say it's even step further, even town has different reasons, but lets just say even every city does. Some guy from London Hampstead will not have the same reasons of starting a business as a guy from a small tribal country with barely anything.

So while it's true that we all start business, the reasons for it are different for all of us and not the same. For example, if I ever started a company (which I probably won't ever do at all) then I would do it for only to survive, because I would like to make more and do more, and that is why I think tis clear that it is not that easy at all.

[gabbie2010]

I developed countries, entrepreneurship surfaces as a result of ideas, desires a willingness to deliver a product or service to satisfy needs and wants, an improved market share, and as a result, profit maximization.

In developing countries, the reverse is case, entrepreneurship is usually ventured into as a result of unemployment.

You then tend to see too many businesses begin to compete for the same demand, there's little or no innovation in these kind of case, a lot of duplication of the same businesses in this case.

Hence we tend to see real entrepreneurship in developed countries.

This is absolutely true because I live in a developing countries and I observed how government in power encourages undergraduates to embrace and learn entrepreneurship while studying their respective courses this is because of high unemployment opportunities in the country, their no white collar jobs any longer, except blue collar jobs which are entrepreneurship,. gone are the days when you graduate from university jobs is already waiting for you, honestly developed countries has high rate of job opportunities thus entrepreneurship is less demanding and would definitely thrive

[Nanga Parbat]

In developing countries, most entrepreneurs don't have access to a safety net like easily getting loans and investors, so they can't always take the risk to fill gaps with new innovations. The chances of new innovations are very low in developing countries, so how could an entrepreneur sell the gap he has just filled with a new innovation?

That's why usually people call themselves entrepreneurs, but they are not creating something new, they are following older entrepreneurs and their businesses after confirming if they are even making any money out of it.

They don't test because of their limited resources, they just repeat what others are doing to make sure they also make some money.

You right here, entrepreneur has not access towards easy loan facility. As this entrepreneurship is not result of their choice but it basically is the outcome of lack of opportunities. So that they face many hurdles in their raod of economically struggle. Not only loans even they have not access on the raw materials at low cost from the factories. As they have low budget so they are not able to purchase it in bulk form. As a result they have to produce goods at high cost. That's in return give no benefit to the them. Then this last option of survival also become challenging for them.

Lack of opportunities doesn't mean that they are not capable or innovative. But they are not only capable but highly energetic for their business but it's due to poor government policies they have to survive on their own efforts. But situation in developed countries are totally different. There companies and firms are strong enough . People prefer or feel secure to do jobs rather entrepreneurship. That's reflects that how much an strong economy facilitate their national financially and mentally.

[justdimin]

the reasons behind it are different from nation to nation and location to location. We are talking about countries, but I would say it's even step further, even town has different reasons, but lets just say even every city does. Some guy from London Hampstead will not have the same reasons of starting a business as a guy from a small tribal country with barely anything.

So while it's true that we all start business, the reasons for it are different for all of us and not the same. For example, if I ever started a company (which I probably won't ever do at all) then I would do it for only to survive, because I would like to make more and do more, and that is why I think tis clear that it is not that easy at all.

In most cases, the "reason" is similar. There are two main reasons for why someone will start a business, and while there are exceptions of course, it's 90%+ of the time these two reasons and never anything else, no matter wherever you are. One is that you are not getting what you desire, so you start your own, you could be middle of Manhattan New York and you could still not find the job you want and could start a new one.

Or you could be in some small village with no water in Africa and it could be same, it's locationless, point is that you are not getting what you want, and only one who could give it to you is you. The other reason is that you do have a job, and a career, but you grew out of it, there is no more upwards movement, so your only option is to work until you retire at the same point, or start your own to continue your growth.

[junder]

The problem is that for developing or poor countries, the easiest way to start a business is to sell essential goods and services-hair salons, clothing repairs, bread, meat, kerosene, and similar low-cost goods and services (which must be affordable) with regular demand. Innovative solutions typically require additional costs and lack an established consumer base, and in “poor markets,” such a base may either fail to emerge at all or emerge only after a very long time, which is unacceptable 

With all that you said, it can be said to be a grocery business and in my neighborhood quite a lot of people who are already married start this grocery business even though the profit is small but maybe because the sales can be said to be guaranteed so many people do it and survive with this even though there are also some who are not doing well.
 
We must be able to survive well by having disciplined income and expenses, and not depend on other people including the government, which sometimes provides assistance.

[Satofan44]

This is true, it's hard for entrepreneurs in the developing nations to get these quick access loans from the banks and the governments.

They have to prove their business to be profitable first and have to put a clean record for them to be trusted by these lending companies.

It's so hard to them to get that and they have to provide so much documents that many of them find it difficult to comply.

Nonsense, and false on several levels that not a single word that you have written is correct. First and foremost, there is nothing constant about the requirement to get a loan across developing nations -- these requirements are going to be significantly different between different countries of the same group. Second, it is false to claim that a business has to be established first and profitable in order to get a loan -- that is not how it works. There are plenty of ways to borrow money first without having this, and you can use other types of loans for the same purposes. Lastly, if you think that "providing documents" is difficult then you are an irresponsible, lazy and incompetent individual who should never receive any kind of loan. The issue is not the availability of money, the issue is primarily with the people.

Africa, is a dumping ground for Chinese products so the Chinese are the real entrepreneurs while our business people are the middlemen for their products. Anybody that raises capital will just go into buying and selling of Chinese products and that is why they are not innovative, their business growth are only aimed at increasing sales.

Better Chinese products than overpriced European junk which is just slightly better than Chinese these days but will cost several times more (often, it is just repackaged Chinese products). Anyhow, the Chinese are selling massively everywhere in the world these days it is not limited to Africa in anyway.

They are entrepreneurs mainly in the areas of increasing sales but in terms of productivity they are still lacking behind and partly to blame are the governments who doesn't support entrepreneurship, support of small scale businesses and industrialization.

Entrepreneurship does not need loans, nor does it need any kind of support, or anything else that anyone has written in here. There are people who have made fascinating products and achieved success by merely doing extra work in their spare time, designing something and working on early prototypes until it was viable enough to get some initial funding or revenue. Most things that you could invent these days do not require any kind of loan, don't use this as an excuse for laziness. I'll give you a simple example that confirms this from the software development world. How many developers go home after their work, watch Netflix and play video games all day long (or do other useless things)? The number is ridiculous. Meanwhile you have the few others, that are spending this free time building new products and trying to innovate or start a business. Their cost is zero, no loan is needed, only time is used -- and even the cost of time is $0 when you would use it on useless activities like Netflix. Therefore, do not give excuses -- if you want to be an entrepreneur you can be one.

 

[DrBeer]

The problem is that for developing or poor countries, the easiest way to start a business is to sell essential goods and services-hair salons, clothing repairs, bread, meat, kerosene, and similar low-cost goods and services (which must be affordable) with regular demand. Innovative solutions typically require additional costs and lack an established consumer base, and in “poor markets,” such a base may either fail to emerge at all or emerge only after a very long time, which is unacceptable 

With all that you said, it can be said to be a grocery business and in my neighborhood quite a lot of people who are already married start this grocery business even though the profit is small but maybe because the sales can be said to be guaranteed so many people do it and survive with this even though there are also some who are not doing well.
 
We must be able to survive well by having disciplined income and expenses, and not depend on other people including the government, which sometimes provides assistance.

It’s difficult to sell goods and services in a market where there’s no demand and no consumers. That’s why, in developing countries-and indeed in most others-the grocery business is the simplest and most viable business model, with minimized risks, although risks can never be completely eliminated. In short, this is neither good nor bad; it is normal and to be expected in such markets.

[abhiseshakana]

Nonsense, and false on several levels that not a single word that you have written is correct. First and foremost, there is nothing constant about the requirement to get a loan across developing nations -- these requirements are going to be significantly different between different countries of the same group. Second, it is false to claim that a business has to be established first and profitable in order to get a loan -- that is not how it works. There are plenty of ways to borrow money first without having this, and you can use other types of loans for the same purposes. Lastly, if you think that "providing documents" is difficult then you are an irresponsible, lazy and incompetent individual who should never receive any kind of loan. The issue is not the availability of money, the issue is primarily with the people.

Better Chinese products than overpriced European junk which is just slightly better than Chinese these days but will cost several times more (often, it is just repackaged Chinese products). Anyhow, the Chinese are selling massively everywhere in the world these days it is not limited to Africa in anyway.

Entrepreneurship does not need loans, nor does it need any kind of support, or anything else that anyone has written in here. There are people who have made fascinating products and achieved success by merely doing extra work in their spare time, designing something and working on early prototypes until it was viable enough to get some initial funding or revenue. Most things that you could invent these days do not require any kind of loan, don't use this as an excuse for laziness. I'll give you a simple example that confirms this from the software development world. How many developers go home after their work, watch Netflix and play video games all day long (or do other useless things)? The number is ridiculous. Meanwhile you have the few others, that are spending this free time building new products and trying to innovate or start a business. Their cost is zero, no loan is needed, only time is used -- and even the cost of time is $0 when you would use it on useless activities like Netflix. Therefore, do not give excuses -- if you want to be an entrepreneur you can be one.

I don't know practice in other country, but in my country for micro business credit, the requirement is not too difficult, as long as our business has running for six month, those businesses can get credit around USD 650 - USD 31.000 without collateral or with collateral below the debt value. Paper work simple, only standard bussiness paper. Many new business man also use credit card cash withdrawal in some merchant for first capital and pay instalment before bill print date to avoid interest. But i don't think starting business using loan are wise, because even there are what we call productive loan but debt that doesn't match cash flow is a big problem. Before taking a loan need to consider business scale, cashflow projection and also scalable risk. Many businessmen now, especially in my country take debt to cover up the ambiguity of the business model before get or to get market validation.

I agree entrepreneurship does not need big capital it just need our action, our spare time and use any resources near our house, but there are some businesses that are hard to start without significant money such as manufacture, distribution services, retail inventory, etc. I think spare time distribution also not equivalent for each person, will be great if we can do coding until night after work, but some people after work they must commuting in some hours, take care children, doing shift work, or help celan the house, not everyone has the same amount of time capital. From my observation some businesses failed  not only because laziness but because wrong timing, too low margin, cashflow shortage and market has not yet formed.

[Stepstowealth]

honestly developed countries has high rate of job opportunities thus entrepreneurship is less demanding and would definitely thrive

If you are considering relocation and your main purpose or motive for it is just so that you can have better job opportunities, you need to be very careful the country choose to relocate to and your location should be based on some thorough research not just because the country is a developed country. There are some developed country that are still having the unemployment crisis that is they lack jobs enough for even their citizens And you who is an immigrant may find it more difficult to get a good job except it's meager domestic jobs that pay very little amount and will require you to do more or take up more jobs to be able to survive. Countries like Spain, Italy have high unemployment rates.

[Cookdata]

I developed countries, entrepreneurship surfaces as a result of ideas, desires a willingness to deliver a product or service to satisfy needs and wants, an improved market share, and as a result, profit maximization.

In developing countries, the reverse is case, entrepreneurship is usually ventured into as a result of unemployment.

You then tend to see too many businesses begin to compete for the same demand, there's little or no innovation in these kind of case, a lot of duplication of the same businesses in this case.

Hence we tend to see real entrepreneurship in developed countries.

No countries stereotype entrepreneur as low standard job than developing and underdeveloped ones. They are the ones that need this and yet they rejected it the most. I have seen the government support msme often with grants and zero interest loan to people to kick start a business but after taking the money, they don't do what they promised to use the money for and they don't return the money back to the government, it's shameful how they disrespect the word "entrepreneur".

The society has messed everyone brains with going to school, finish and get a job, this was then in the early 2000s, today there is little to jobs. It's either you have a business or become a self employed and do that job on your own. There are many tech skills and non tech skills that are generating good amount of money. In developing and underdeveloped, you will likely make money with skill job than a person with white collar job due to poor minimum wage.

[rat03gopoh]

Is entrepreneurship in developing countries always monotonous? I think innovative ideas are easily born from the many constraints that force people into extreme survival mode. And most of the innovations we highlight focus solely on product variety, but don't also highlight how they got started, overcame obstacles, etc.

Furthermore, what's considered innovative isn't necessarily what's needed. True innovation is about providing satisfaction.

[blockman]

Do not invalidate the entrepreneurship in developing countries. Because I am in one and I see a lot of people who are thriving in their business. It's not easy at first but they're able to survive the hardship of it. We've got a lot of problems from registrations, to filing taxes and applying for the licenses. Yet, still a lot are pursuant and complying for it because they want to do business and they know that they are for entrepreneurship. So, if op says that the real entrepreneurship is only happening in developed countries, we don't see businessmen here in my country anymore.