Embracing Entrepreneurship and Scaling Megacorporations for Economic Growth
Thank you for sharing your perspective. I understand that you view small service-based entrepreneurship as an obstacle to industrial growth and wealth creation, especially in a country where major homegrown brands are scarce, government employment is highly sought after and our expenditure is mainly directed towards humanistic and social issues.
However, quality entrepreneurship potential that can lead to industrialisation is hindered by several factors in a our case. These include a shortage of STEM skills, an innovation-unfriendly environment, and a lack of business acumen needed to scale enterprises beyond individual or family-controlled businesses. Many emerging industrial nations have leveraged cottage and family industries for initial growth, but true wealth is achieved when these businesses can expand beyond local circles.
I recently listened to a podcast (https://open.spotify.com/episode/0W8sozJfPXYogvMXHjs4zH?si=5c4a1316805d48c4) and realized that successful businesses require certain ingredients beyond traditional economic pillars. I had never viewed honesty, for example, as a kind of capital. Countries become wealthy when they have megacorporations, either locally grown or international brands. While we're beginning to see this with companies like Safaricom, there's still much room for growth, particularly in industries like steel and cement, which could expand regionally within East Africa and Central Africa.
Unfortunately, megacorporations often face criticism, and our inclination towards social expenditures coupled with corruption can hinder transformative capitalism. It's necessary to protect flourishing private investments through business-friendly laws, viewing them as "public goods" that contribute to economic expansion beyond our borders.
While acknowledging the importance of small service-based entrepreneurship, genuine industrialization and wealth creation stem from the development of megacorporations that can leverage local and regional resources. Although cottage industries serve as a foundational step, as observed in China and India, true prosperity emerges when these enterprises expand beyond national borders.
Considerable emphasis has been placed on funding entrepreneurship and startups "internationally", which play a vital role in fostering innovation and new industries. These also tend to feed into existing megacorps(that become less innovative with their expansive bureaucracy). For instance, the discovery of COVID-19 vaccines originated from individual scientists or small research teams, which were later acquired by large pharmaceutical companies capable of mass production and distribution. In my view, cottage laboratories represent an ideal starting point for industrial growth in emerging countries, surpassing the impact of small service-based entrepreneurship.
Privatization of large government-owned utilities is often met with opposition, but it's essential for igniting the growth of megacorporations that can provide meaningful employment opportunities. In Kenya, divesting from government-owned industries and putting them into hands of private ownership is more likely to accelerate the formation of giant corporations that are better than parastatals. Safaricom is a poignant example, though I would hope they now extend to innovation that goes beyond profit. Bell labs and AT&T birthed ICT by supporting scientiests who worked on more than just a profit margin.
Thank you for this reply. You make two great points: The importance of megacorporations, and the role played by cottage industries. I believe both are essential and government resources and business friendly policies need to be directed toward them. For large businesses like Safaricom, I think they need all the government help to scale further and expand employment both within and without the country.
For cottage industries, I believe there's a distinction to be made between those that have growth potential and are very likely to scale their operations, and those that aren't and are no different from normal small businesses. More attention needs to go to those that have growth potential since with additional capital they are likely to grow and employ more people. Government initiatives like the Youth Fund and Uwezo Fund which I talked about could be directed toward identifying and providing help to these kinds of cottages. Many Jua Kalis are likely to be in this category and with enough help they can expand.
The problem with STEM I believe is the hardest to solve since it's directly proportional to the available human capital, which might not be quite extensive in Kenya. Either way, we do not need the whole country to be engineers and inventors. The beauty of technology and innovation is that a single idea can transform the lives of many people. If we can have the cottage laboratories you've talked about, sandboxes in existing organizations, and incubators, then we are likely to see more growth driven by a few people.
GoK needs to figure out how to directly target these high growth cottages and laboratories. Though with the current demand for taxes, the government has become more hostile to businesses.
You're right but I think you're putting the cart before the horse. Self-employment and small scale agriculture is funging against UNEMPLOYMENT, not productive employment.
Large scale industrialization is hard. Especially in a global market where other countries have the absolute and comparative advantage. Giving loans for a smokie mayai stand is easy.
Thank you. I agree with you. Maybe the demand for self-employment is due to a lack of productive employment. I believe we need to start looking at ways to bridge this gap.
Embracing Entrepreneurship and Scaling Megacorporations for Economic Growth
Thank you for sharing your perspective. I understand that you view small service-based entrepreneurship as an obstacle to industrial growth and wealth creation, especially in a country where major homegrown brands are scarce, government employment is highly sought after and our expenditure is mainly directed towards humanistic and social issues.
However, quality entrepreneurship potential that can lead to industrialisation is hindered by several factors in a our case. These include a shortage of STEM skills, an innovation-unfriendly environment, and a lack of business acumen needed to scale enterprises beyond individual or family-controlled businesses. Many emerging industrial nations have leveraged cottage and family industries for initial growth, but true wealth is achieved when these businesses can expand beyond local circles.
I recently listened to a podcast (https://open.spotify.com/episode/0W8sozJfPXYogvMXHjs4zH?si=5c4a1316805d48c4) and realized that successful businesses require certain ingredients beyond traditional economic pillars. I had never viewed honesty, for example, as a kind of capital. Countries become wealthy when they have megacorporations, either locally grown or international brands. While we're beginning to see this with companies like Safaricom, there's still much room for growth, particularly in industries like steel and cement, which could expand regionally within East Africa and Central Africa.
Unfortunately, megacorporations often face criticism, and our inclination towards social expenditures coupled with corruption can hinder transformative capitalism. It's necessary to protect flourishing private investments through business-friendly laws, viewing them as "public goods" that contribute to economic expansion beyond our borders.
While acknowledging the importance of small service-based entrepreneurship, genuine industrialization and wealth creation stem from the development of megacorporations that can leverage local and regional resources. Although cottage industries serve as a foundational step, as observed in China and India, true prosperity emerges when these enterprises expand beyond national borders.
Considerable emphasis has been placed on funding entrepreneurship and startups "internationally", which play a vital role in fostering innovation and new industries. These also tend to feed into existing megacorps(that become less innovative with their expansive bureaucracy). For instance, the discovery of COVID-19 vaccines originated from individual scientists or small research teams, which were later acquired by large pharmaceutical companies capable of mass production and distribution. In my view, cottage laboratories represent an ideal starting point for industrial growth in emerging countries, surpassing the impact of small service-based entrepreneurship.
Privatization of large government-owned utilities is often met with opposition, but it's essential for igniting the growth of megacorporations that can provide meaningful employment opportunities. In Kenya, divesting from government-owned industries and putting them into hands of private ownership is more likely to accelerate the formation of giant corporations that are better than parastatals. Safaricom is a poignant example, though I would hope they now extend to innovation that goes beyond profit. Bell labs and AT&T birthed ICT by supporting scientiests who worked on more than just a profit margin.
Thank you for this reply. You make two great points: The importance of megacorporations, and the role played by cottage industries. I believe both are essential and government resources and business friendly policies need to be directed toward them. For large businesses like Safaricom, I think they need all the government help to scale further and expand employment both within and without the country.
For cottage industries, I believe there's a distinction to be made between those that have growth potential and are very likely to scale their operations, and those that aren't and are no different from normal small businesses. More attention needs to go to those that have growth potential since with additional capital they are likely to grow and employ more people. Government initiatives like the Youth Fund and Uwezo Fund which I talked about could be directed toward identifying and providing help to these kinds of cottages. Many Jua Kalis are likely to be in this category and with enough help they can expand.
The problem with STEM I believe is the hardest to solve since it's directly proportional to the available human capital, which might not be quite extensive in Kenya. Either way, we do not need the whole country to be engineers and inventors. The beauty of technology and innovation is that a single idea can transform the lives of many people. If we can have the cottage laboratories you've talked about, sandboxes in existing organizations, and incubators, then we are likely to see more growth driven by a few people.
GoK needs to figure out how to directly target these high growth cottages and laboratories. Though with the current demand for taxes, the government has become more hostile to businesses.
> wheelbarrownomics
lol
You're right but I think you're putting the cart before the horse. Self-employment and small scale agriculture is funging against UNEMPLOYMENT, not productive employment.
Large scale industrialization is hard. Especially in a global market where other countries have the absolute and comparative advantage. Giving loans for a smokie mayai stand is easy.
Thank you. I agree with you. Maybe the demand for self-employment is due to a lack of productive employment. I believe we need to start looking at ways to bridge this gap.