Break the chains of inferiority
Our entrepreneurs must believe in themselves to build businesses
THIS week, more than 500 owners of small businesses gathered in Johannesburg, determined to gain insights into how to take their businesses to the next level.
The participants in the SMME Opportunity Roadshow 2016 were also intent on building networks with like-minded people who could be helpful to them along the way.
As the roadshow’s opening speaker, I used the opportunity to share some perspectives on the wealth of opportunities available to the leaders of small businesses.
I also urged that we all roll up our sleeves and tackle the entrenched behaviours and mindsets that are crippling the culture of entrepreneurship in South Africa.
And the shift required is that we learn how to lead from a place of superiority, not from a place of inferiority.
It is a fact that our nation’s levels of entrepreneurship are unacceptably low when compared to peer countries.
According to a report by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, South Africa has only a quarter of the entrepreneurship that the rest of sub-Saharan African has.
This does not make sense, given that we are among the largest and most developed economies in the region.
In Nigeria, for example, which is the biggest economy in Africa but is much less developed than South Africa, almost half of young people are involved in some kind of entrepreneurial activity.
Whenever I am in Nigeria for work, I notice that almost everyone I interact with feels they are an entrepreneur of some sort — eager to showcase their multiple business ventures and give out business cards.
Young South Africans, by contrast, are focused on looking for jobs or getting the tertiary education required to get these jobs — overlooking the opportunity to create jobs for themselves and in turn become employers for others.
Many have even given up looking for jobs and are passively living at home, which is why we have such unacceptably high youth unemployment rates and unacceptably low youth entrepreneurship rates.
It is time we confronted some of the deep-rooted behaviours and attitudes that have led us to this point. If we can get to the root of these problems, we might have some hope of shifting the statistics over the next few decades.
There are some obvious reasons why these problems exist, one being the fact that entrepreneurship is not easily accepted as a career path.
As a result, many would-be entrepreneurs don’t even consider trying to start a business.
Another reason for South Africa’s failure in this sphere is the historically limited public-sector initiatives in support of entrepreneurship.
Fortunately, things have been changing: numerous private- and public-sector initiatives have been established to foster the culture of entrepreneurship.
However, one of the root causes, which is rarely addressed, is our long-standing inferiority complex.
After all, we live in a society where the majority of the population comes from a long history of oppression — one that has hypnotised most of us into perceiving ourselves as inferior.
I believe this is why many would rather spend years looking for work instead of becoming the employer who creates these jobs.
It is difficult to believe yourself capable of leading others as an CREATING JOBS: Dairy workers in a milk-processing plant in Kano, in Nigeria, land of business employer, when you feel inferior to them.
I believe our inferiority complexes also contribute to why our aspiring entrepreneurs give up so soon.
When faced with difficulty, an inferior mind personalises the failure and gives up. In contrast, a superior mind keeps trying, because it does not see failure as a reflection of personal weaknesses — instead, a challenge or a failure is grasped as an opportunity to learn and grow from the experience.
During the talk I gave at the SMME Opportunity Roadshow, I used my own example of having personally navigated the inferiority challenges that the world puts forth for those who are black, women, and young.
I have to remind myself, daily, that these challenges come from a place of ignorance and are no reflection on who I am and what I am capable of.
We have to invest in the behavioural and mindset changes needed to help our economy to thrive.
Otherwise, decades could pass and many great initiatives could be introduced, but we would still not see people being bold enough to take active steps and lead from a place of superiority — and refuse to hide behind the curtains of inferiority.
We must all break away from the inferiority complexes that we hold at an individual level.
As South Africans, we are no longer oppressed. As Africans, we are no longer treated as an ignored region of the world economy.
In celebration of Africa Day this week, let us focus on what we can achieve, not on what we cannot achieve.
Our inferiority complexes also contribute to why our entrepreneurs give up so soon
Sikhakhane is an international speaker, writer and retailer, with an honours degree in business science from the University of Cape Town and an MBA from Stanford University. She also advises and funds small businesses Comment on this: write to letters@businesstimes.co.za or SMS us at 33971 www.sundaytimes.co.za