By Prisca Sam-Duru
Judging by the simple fact that civilisation began in the continent of Africa which is sadly, today, the most backward, poverty-stricken, war-torn, disunited continent where there exists a huge gap between the leaders and the masses, one cannot help but wonder what went wrong. In all of these challenges confronting Africa, unemployment has played and is still playing a huge role in the continent’s underdevelopment. The labour force is largely dormant and the resultant effect is that they utilise their endowments to perpetuate criminal acts. This has been a major bane of Africa’s development. In Our Entrepreneurship Mandate, Ola Grace, a lawyer and an alumnus of the Enterprise Development Centre of the prestigious Pan- Atlantic University, Lagos, explicitly addresses the critical need for harnessing Africa’s enormous resources and endowments through entrepreneurship as well as business endeavours.
Grace articulates and analyses the dynamics of entrepreneurship development, while positing that governments across the continent must ensure that entrepreneurship development is prioritised for any meaningful socio-economic growth to be recorded. Our Entrepreneurship Mandate, a handbook of 119 pages, is divided into three practical parts of varying lengths, that guide entrepreneurs, intending entrepreneurs and policymakers as they prepare to venture into private enterprise oriented economies to curb unemployment and generate wealth for speedy growth. Although the book lays emphasis on Africa’s development through entrepreneurship, it harps more on tackling local and international dynamics by catering for illiterate women in remote areas in addition to the teeming youths in cities. In a nutshell, the book with foreword written by a personality of no mean repute in the the world of entrepreneurial development, Professor Pat Utomi, as well as Dr Chance Glenn, Alabama, USA, in very strong terms, avers that the need for Africa to sharpen her tools of entrepreneurship so as to enjoy an economically vibrant population, is non-negotiable. Entrepreneurship, the book maintains, “has proven itself as a viable economic order that accommodates great and small businesses of all stripes.” Part 1 of the book examines the basics of entrepreneurial development and its relevance in the much desired development of the continent. With sub-titles such as Proem, Practical Insights in Entrepreneurship Development, A Quick Guide for Entrepreneurs, The Making of an Entrepreneur and Steps to Entrepreneurial success, the book presents elaborately, practical insights and guides for entrepreneurs stemming from the author’s decades long sojourn in the entrepreneurship terrain. Part two entitled Africa’s Entrepreneurship Agenda( 10 Dynamics for Entrepreneurship Development), documents salient propositions for Africa’s development “through a collaborative and integrated entrepreneurship development framework.” Although the word, underdevelopment, could comfortably serve as metonymy for Africa owing to how devastated the continent has been, this part of the book optimistically records that just as Singapore, China and some newly developed economies in Asia turned their woes to success, Africa can develop if economic activities increase. The book emphasises at this juncture that Africa is endowed with all needed resources for development which are unfortunately, left untapped. In the heading, Doing business in Africa, readers are awed by the figures representing the mineral resources and raw materials Africa has, as well as Africa’s billionaires; yet, the continent is retrogressing due to bad leadership. The author however, states that in spite of everything, there are lots of opportunities for entrepreneurs in all sectors. A Prototype standard Entrepreneurship Centre and Postscript which are documented in Part three, would be exceptionally pleasing to the readers as they deal with practical methods and strategies that entrepreneurs or aspiring ones can adopt and become successful in their ventures. The author deploys a very simple and succinct language spiced with references of individuals and countries that are thriving due to entrepreneurial development. With Our Entrepreneurship Mandate, Ola Grace is no doubt, confidently occupying a space in the guild of authors who have provided priceless insights into life-changing mechanisms for self reliance and socio-economic development. The book is a must read for students, entrepreneurs and policymakers.
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