What is the Role of an Entrepreneur in Economic Development ?

The entrepreneur who is a business leader looks for ideas and puts them into effect in fostering economic growth and development. Entrepreneurship is one of the most important input in the economic development of a country. The entrepreneur acts as a trigger head to give spark to economic activities by his entrepreneurial decisions. He plays a pivotal role not only in the development of industrial sector of a country but also in the development of farm and service sector. The major roles played by an entrepreneur in the economic development of an economy is discussed in a systematic and orderly manner as follows. (1) Promotes Capital Formation: Entrepreneurs promote capital formation by mobilising the idle savings of public. They employ their own as well as borrowed resources for setting up their enterprises. Such type of entrepreneurial activities lead to value addition and creation of wealth, which is very essential for the industrial and economic development of the country. (2) Creates Large-Scale Employment Opportunities: Entrepreneurs provide immediate large-scale employment to the unemployed which is a chronic problem of underdeveloped nations. With the setting up.of more and more units by entrepreneurs, both on small and large-scale numerous job opportunities are created for others. As time passes, these enterprises grow, providing direct and indirect employment opportunities to many more. In this way, entrepreneurs play an effective role in reducing the problem of unemployment in the country which in turn clears the path towards economic development of the nation. (3) Promotes Balanced Regional Development: Entrepreneurs help to remove regional disparities through setting up of industries in less developed and backward areas. The growth of industries and business in these areas lead to a large number of public benefits like road transport, health, education, entertainment, etc. Setting up of more industries lead to more development of backward regions and thereby promotes balanced regional development. (4) Reduces Concentration of Economic Power: Economic power is the natural outcome of industrial and business activity. Industrial development normally lead to concentration of economic power in the hands of a few individuals which results in the growth of monopolies. In order to redress this problem a

large number of entrepreneurs need to be developed, which will help reduce the concentration of economic power amongst the population. (5) Wealth Creation and Distribution: It stimulates equitable redistribution of wealth and income in the interest of the country to more people and geographic areas, thus giving benefit to larger sections of the society. Entrepreneurial activities also generate more activities and give a multiplier effect in the economy. (6) Increasing Gross National Product and Per Capita Income: Entrepreneurs are always on the look out for opportunities. They explore and exploit opportunities,, encourage effective resource mobilisation of capital and skill, bring in new products and services and develops markets for growth of the economy. In this way, they help increasing gross national product as well as per capita income of the people in a country. Increase in gross national product and per capita income of the people in a country, is a sign of economic growth. (6) Improvement in the Standard of Living: Increase in the standard of living of the people is a characteristic feature of economic development of the country. Entrepreneurs play a key role in increasing the standard of living of the people by adopting latest innovations in the production of wide variety of goods and services in large scale that too at a lower cost. This enables the people to avail better quality goods at lower prices which results in the improvement of their standard of living. (7) Promotes Country's Export Trade: Entrepreneurs help in promoting a country's export-trade, which is an important ingredient of economic development. They produce goods and services in large scale for the purpose earning huge amount of foreign exchange from export in order to combat the import dues requirement. Hence import substitution and export promotion ensure economic independence and development. (8) Induces Backward and Forward Linkages: Entrepreneurs like to work in an environment of change and try to maximise profits by innovation. When an enterprise is established in accordance with the changing technology, it induces backward and forward linkages which stimulate the process of economic development in the country. (9) Facilitates Overall Development:

Entrepreneurs act as catalytic agent for change which results in chain reaction. Once an enterprise is established, the process of industrialisation is set in motion. This unit will generate demand for various types of units required by it and there will be so many other units which require the output of this unit. This leads to overall development of an area due to increase in demand and setting up of more and more units. In this way, the entrepreneurs multiply their entrepreneurial activities, thus creating an environment of enthusiasm and conveying an impetus for overall development of the area.

Role of entrepreneurship in economic dvelopment.

Entrepreneur An enrepreneur can be regarded as a person who has the initiative skill and motivation to set up a business or enterprice of his own and who always look for high acheivements. He is the catalyst for social change and works for the common good. They looks for opportunities, identifies them and seizes them mainly for economic gains. An action oriented enrepreneur is a highly calculative individual who is always willing to to undertake risks inorder to achieve their goals. Need for Entrepreneurship Development Economic development essentially means a process of upward change whereby the real pr capita income of a country increases over a period of time .Entrepreneurship has an important role to play in the development of a country. It is one of the most important inputs in economic development. The number and competense of entrepreneurs affect the economic growth of the country. The economic history of the presently advanced countries like USA, Russia and japan supports the fact that economic development is the outcome for which entrepreneurship is an inevitable cause. The crucial and significant role played by the entrepreneurs in the economic development of advanced countries has made the people of developing and under developed countries consious of the importance of entrepreneuship for economic development. It is now a widely accepted fact that active and enthusiastic entrepreneurs can only explore the potentials of the countries availability of resourses such as labour, capital and technology. The role of entrepreneurs is not identical in the various economies. Depending on the material resources, industry climate and responsiveness of the political system, it varies from economy to economy. The contribution of entrepreneurs may be more in favourable opportunity conditions than in economies with relatively less favourable opportunity conditions. Entrpreneurship and Economic Development

Entrepreneurship helps in the process of economic development in the following ways : 1) Employment Generation : Growing unemployment particularly educated unemployment is the problem of the nation. The available employment opportunities can cater only 5 to 10 % of the unemployed. Entrepreneurs generate employment both directly and indirectly. Directly, self employment as an entrepreneur and indirectly by starting many industrial units they offer jobs to millions. Thus entrepreneurship is the best way to fight the evil of unemployment. 2) National Income : National Income consits of the goods and services produced in the country and imported. The goods and services produced are for consumption within the country as well as to meet the demand of exports. The domestic demand increases with increase in population and increase in standard of living. The export demand also increases to meet the needs of growing imports due to various reasons. An increasing number of entrepreneurers are required to meet this increasing demand for goods and services. Thus entrepreneurship increases the national income. 3) Balanced Regional Development : The growth of Industry and business leads to a lot of Public benefits like transport facilities, health, education, entertainment etc. When the industries are concentrated in selected cities, development gets limited to these cities. A rapid development . When the new entrepreneurers grow at a faster rate, in view of increasing competition in and around cities, they are forced to set up their enterprises in the smaller towns away from big cities. This helps in the development of backward regions.

4) Dispersal of economic power : Industrial development normally may lesd to concentration of economic powers in a few hands. This concentration of power in a few hands has its own evils in the form of monopolies. Developing a large number of entrepreneurers helps in dispersing the economic power amongst the population. Thus it helps in weakening the harmful effects of monopoly.

5) Better standards of living :

Entrepreneurers play a vital role in achieving a higher rate of economic growth. Entrepreneurers are able to produce goods at lower cost and supply quality goods at lower price to the community according to their requirements.When the price of of the commodies decreases the consumers get the power to buy more goods for their satisfaction. In this way they can increase the standard of living of the people.

6) Creating innovation : An entrepreneur is a person who always look for changes. apart from combining the factors of production, he also introduces new ideas and new combination of factors. He always try to introduce newer and newer technique of production of goods and services. An entrepreneur brings economic development through innovation. Entrepreneurship also helps in increasing productivity and capital formation of a nation. In short, the development of the entrepreneurship is inevitable in the economic development of the country. The Role played by the entrepreneurship development can be expressed in the following words : " Economic development is the effect for which entrepreneurship is a cause "

The Process of Entrepreneurship

Although enterprises are as different and unique as the entrepreneurs who create them, most entrepreneurs appe work through a process that we can observe and describe. Often entrepreneurs discover this process through tri error, but you can shorten your learning curve by benefiting from the experiences of others. Note how the diagr below illustrates a logical sequence of activities.