Assignment BC

Answer any 3 questions ( each question carry 5 marks)(100 words)

1. What are some of the key personal attributes of a successful entrepreneur?
2. Social entrepreneurship attempts to address certain societal gaps. Discuss
whether this is an effective mechanism with reference to micro finance.

3. The background, credibility and track record of founders of start-ups plays a

key role in attracting funding. Do you agree with this?
4.Cultural factors play a key role in facilitating entrepreneurship. Discuss with
reference to India and identify some aspects of culture which may facilitate
Answer 1) Entrepreneurs are some of the most multi-talented and diverse people out there. If you want
to start a business, it's essential to learn the specific skills that underpin these qualities. It's also important
to develop entrepreneurial skills if you're in a job role where you're expected to develop a business, or
"take things forward" more generally. Below are some of the traits & attributes to be a successful
entrepreneur:
Self-belief, Hard work & Disciplined Dedication -> Self-confidence is a key entrepreneurial trait.
Entrepreneurs enjoy what they do. They believe in themselves and are confident and dedicated to their
project with proactiveness. Self-awareness and conviction in ability to succeed.
Passion & Motivation with Vision -> The one word that describes the basic requirement for an
entrepreneurship venture is Passion.. Your demonstration of passion and motivation will determine your
success in any entrepreneurial venture. From building and implementing a prototype, to pitching your
idea to venture capitalists, success is a function of passion and determination. They imagine another
world and have the ability to communicate that vision effectively to investors, customers and staff.
Adaptability & Flexibility with Perseverance being independent -> Its good to be passionate or even
stubborn about what you do. But being inflexible about client or market needs will lead to failure.
Remember, an entrepreneurial venture is not simply about doing what you believe is good, but also
making successful business out of it. Market needs are dynamic: changes are a recurring phenomenon.
Entrepreneurs need to be able to deal with obstacles. A business does not get built overnight, and turning
your idea into a reality will take time. You'll have to become accustomed to people saying no to you.
What makes entrepreneurs great is having the perseverance to grow regardless of how many times they
are shut down. Follow-up is key. Faith in being self and multi-tasking with responsibilities.
Planning -> Entrepreneurship is about building a business from scratch while managing limited resources
(including time, money and personal relationships). It is a long-term commitment, and attempting to plan
as much as possible at the beginning is a noble impulse. The act of business planning is so important
because it requires you to analyze each business situation, research and compile data, and make

conclusions based mainly on the facts as revealed through the research. A business plan also serves a
second function, which is having your goals and how you will achieve them, on paper.
Risk Taking &
Forward-looking approach.-> Entrepreneurs are risk takers ready to dive deep
into a future of uncertainty. Successful entrepreneurs are will to risk time and money on unknowns, but
they also keep resources, plans and bandwidth for dealing with "unknown unknowns" in reserve. When
evaluating risk, a successful entrepreneur will ask herself, is this risk worth the cost of my career, time
and money? And, what will I do if this venture doesn't pay off? Successful entrepreneurs are always
thinking ahead. They may stray from their roadmap, and that's okay, but they have one in mind.
Creativity with Money management -> To come up with innovative ideas about marketing,
management or finance to be able to differentiate yourself from others if you want to be a successful
entrepreneur. Successful entrepreneurs realize this mandatory money management requirement and plan
for present and future financial obligations. Even after securing funding or going fully operational, a
successful businessman keeps a complete handle on cash flows, as it is the most important aspect of any
business.
Networking Abilities to know your customers & Follow-up constantly -> What do successful
entrepreneurs do? They reach out to mentors with more experience and extensive networks to seek
valuable advice. Always go out of your way to get involved in the community that supports your business.
Constant contact, follow-up, and follow-through with customers, prospects, and business alliances should
be the mantra of every home business owner, new or established. Constant and consistent follow-up
enables you to turn prospects into customers, increase the value of each sale and build stronger business
relationships with suppliers and your core business team.
Successful entrepreneurs have excellent role models and so, they are good leaders -> These
role models are people that they aspire to be, people that they look up to, and people who provide them
with inspiration and the guidance that they need to be successful. They possess many leadership
qualities and are people-oriented. They are good at managing all aspects of their professional and personal
lives. They have the ability to make big decisions, and the right decisions.
Answer

http://www.ijaiem.org/RATMIG-2013/MGT%2025%20Challenges%20for%20Social

%20Entrepreneurship.pdf
Microfinance (MF) has been globally established as a leading development tool to combat poverty and
more specifically aimed at economically empowering the poor and releasing their entrepreneurial
potential. However, with the creeping commercialization of the microfinance sector most

discussion now rotates around profitability, sustainability and risk minimization. It is being

increasingly forcefully argued that commercialization allows greater opportunity for MFIs to
fulfil their social objectives which increase access to a range of demand driven microfinance
products and services to the poor. Microfinance, or perhaps more properly micro-credit, first
came to attention as a possible means of combating poverty through extending small loans to
poor and people on low incomes. In addition to that, microcredit program was based on unique
mechanism such as group lending, social collateral and distinctive payment methods. The rapid
development of microfinance benefited many poor people, giving them small loans on low
interest rates.
Both banks and NGOs are playing important roles in the microfinance market. Banks, in
particular, have adopted a clear strategic model, segmenting the market and clearly identifying
the areas within which they should operate, and can operate profitably. Arguably, this does have
positive benefits in that growing small firms are possibly better served and this may help develop
some entrepreneurship and create employment in the economy. However, it is not offering hope
for the many more, and poorer, people who are increasingly being excluded from these schemes.
In other words, as one funding gap is reduced, another more pernicious one is opened in its
place, impacting worse on those most in need.
The term micro finance is of recent origin and is commonly used in addressing issues related to
poverty alleviation, financial support to micro entrepreneurs, gender development etc. Microfinance is promoted as an entry point in the context of a wider strategy for womens economic
and socio-political empowerment which focuses on gender awareness and feminist organization
As a result, there are little empowerment mechanisms in the country encouraging innovative
thinking (entrepreneurs). Since micro-finance seeks to empower citizens of a country to be
innovative and builds an entrepreneurial 1 Economic prosperity within a country is a movement
of people from a poor economic class to the economic middle or rich class of a society 2
mindset, he formal microfinance institutions provide savings, credit and insurance facilities to
the public. Similar to other countries, the goal of the microfinance institutions is to provide
access to 3 credit for the rural and urban, low-income earners, however its impact has been
limited due primarily to inadequate funds.

Societal gaps- to eradicate poverty and empower women

defines social entrepreneurs as societys change agents: creators of innovations that
disrupt the status quo and transform our world for the better. T he sector has proved itself
to be resilient, contributing to economic growth and employment, social cohesion and
social inclusion. Social enterprises are often created to tackle specific gaps in society,
unmet needs or dealing in general interest of common good or of specific user group.
Their focus is on people and the peoples needs and they are building more than
economic results for private owners and looking on doing something for the good of
society. This is their primary objective. But I think promotion of social entrepreneurship
is not necessary to be just at formal education. We have to do it with informal and nonformal learning because the social entrepreneur may not always require high education.
It could be a very passionate individual or often a team working at local level or
someone that wants to give back to society for something that they discovered through
their own life. We also have to keep in mind that entrepreneurs are not always young
people there are entrepreneurs from all generations that want to do something in this
area. We have to reach people in society that may not go regular education route in
addition to mainstreaming social entrepreneurship throughout the educational system.
Just by supporting them they can start enterprise and do something that is good for
community. At local, regional, national level we must ensure that development agencies
also promote the models of the social economy as an alternative to the regular or
mainstream company