Grow Your Business

Trade secretary Gregory Domingo has been very vocal about the need to inculcate entrepreneurship into the young, instead of training them to become employees.

But in the Philippines, a number of factors exist that make entrepreneurship unattractive.

In the study European Roundtable on Entrepreneurship Education,  the World Economic Forum said there are seven actions needed from the government, educational institutions, and the business sector to promote entrepreneurship among the young.

While the study has been based on the entrepreneurial environment of Europe, these steps may also apply to the Philippine setting.

Identified during the European Roundtable on Entrepreneurship Education organized by the WEF, the  actions needed for entrepreneurship to thrive are the following:

1. Transform the Educational System

Educational institutions, from the earliest levels up, need to adopt 21st century methods and tools to develop the appropriate learning environment for encouraging creativity, innovation and the ability to think “out of the box” to solve problems.

Embedding entrepreneurship and innovation, cross-disciplinary approaches and interactive teaching methods in education requires new models, frameworks and paradigms. It is time to rethink old systems and fundamentally “reboot” the educational process. Changes in the educational system are needed across all levels and should address the lifelong learning process as well as critical links and interactions between levels (primary, secondary, higher and continued education).


2. Build Policy Commitment

The government must act now to address the growing skills gap. This requires a clear and coherent commitment at the highest political levels. Policies should send a strong signal of support for entrepreneurship and also set the strategic framework in which schools and universities can work to implement programs and activities within their institutions.

To do so, greater coordination and action is needed at the national, regional and local levels. In addition, the engagement of stakeholders from academe, business, the NGO community and foundations is important in the development of policies and implementation of programs.

Page 3: Commitment

3. Develop Institutional Commitment

Academic institutions must revamp their programs to enable the development of 21st century skills. Commitment is required from the top of the institution coupled with clear strategies and tangible action plans.

Currently, too much “lip service” is being paid to entrepreneurship without sufficient reach to students. Academic institutions need to “walk the talk”, which includes providing the proper incentives and support for educators and students. Student-led initiatives should be encouraged to leverage the inherent interest of students in entrepreneurship.


4. Train, Develop and Motivate Teachers

There is a need to grow the number of entrepreneurship educators as well as further develop them by providing the appropriate training, particularly in interactive teaching methods.

Entrepreneurs and others with entrepreneurial experience should also be allowed, encouraged and trained to teach. They not only provide great value in the classroom, but also enhance entrepreneurial spirit within the institution and create stronger links with the local community and entrepreneurial ecosystem.

There are many new models being tested around the world, both inside and outside of formal educational systems, which need to be shared more broadly to fuel new and more effective approaches to entrepreneurship education. More must also be done to facilitate faculty collaboration, exchanges and research across borders.

5. Catalyze Multi-stakeholder Partnerships

Entrepreneurship thrives in ecosystems in which multiple stakeholders play key roles. In particular, education should be better linked with practice to ensure that future skills match future jobs. Academia should be encouraged to reach out to the European business community and integrate it into the learning process.

Students need to be given the opportunity to experiment and experience entrepreneurship. Greater awareness and access to role models and success stories (international, national and local) is needed to encourage young people to pursue their potential. The media and new forms of social media should be leveraged to raise awareness as well as facilitate networks and partnerships.

6. Leverage and Scale Good Practices

While an increasing number of entrepreneurship education programs exist compared to a decade ago, scalability and penetration remain key challenges.

In today’s environment, technology plays an increasingly important role in the educational process, both as a delivery channel and a teaching tool. Not only can technology help reach larger audiences, including those who previously might not have had access to entrepreneurship education, but it can also help in the development of interactive and locally relevant programs and materials. Technology provides a mechanism for reaching greater economies of scale as well as providing broader sharing of practices.

7. Strive for Effective Outcomes and Impact

More effective measurement and evaluation of the impact of entrepreneurship education programs and policies is needed. These should be based on a broadly defined set of outcomes, not only on narrow measures such as the number of start-ups created. Evaluation needs to go beyond short-term results, measuring longer-term impact.