Entrepreneurs’ Day
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September 20th each year is another one of those “professional holidays” commemorated here in Kyrgyzstan: it is Entrepreneurs’ Day.
The word is a loan word derived from French and is used to describe someone who undertakes a business venture accepting the risk involved in the possibility of failure … someone who is enterprising and shows initiative.
It sometimes strikes me as odd that countries which were once a part of the Soviet Union, governed by communist ideology which seemed to envisage business and capitalism as the embodiment of evil, now mark entrepreneurship as a panacea to bring about improvements to the economy and standard of living of its people.
Let me explain.
The first recorded use of the word in English was by the economist Rischard Cantillon in 1725 as
a person who pays a certain price for a product to resell it at an uncertain uncertain price, thereby making decisions about obtaining and using the resources while consequently admitting the risk of enterprise.
When I first came to Kyrgyzstan I knew very little Russian, having had limited lessons back in the UK. I started taking lessons with a teacher here in Bishkek and she used a wide variety of textbooks, including a number designed for teaching English to locals. In one of those which looked fairly modern but dated from the 1980′s – before the collapse of the communist regime, there was a definition of business which went like this:
Business is the art of taking money out of one persons pockets and into another person’s without the first person complaining.
After I had been here a while I went to a public meeting where one of the speakers described someone described who bought a property, renovated it and sold it once again, at a profit, as a speculator. At first glance there doesn’t seem to be anything particularly devastating in that: accepting the risk associated with the enterprise, (for example that property prices will fall and the value of the work done will not be reflected in the final price when completed and it comes time to sell) … until, that is, one remembers that “speculation” was a serious crime in the Soviet Union punishable by lengthy prison term.
As it happens, however, in Kyrgyzstan, (as in most Central Asian countries, developing economies, or countries attempting to cope with economic crisis), SME’s, (Small and Medium sized Enterprises) assume a major role … supporting development and creating new opportunities for wealth generation and employment. Indeed, according to many analyses they are seen as being responsible for driving innovation and competition.
Usually defined as businesses which fall below a given threshold, for example, in terms of levels of investment, turnover or number of employees. Even where two countries share the basis for the definition, such as number of employees, the thresholds can be significantly different: 19 in New Zealand and 255 in Germany. In most economies, however, they greatly outnumber larger companies which may be flagship enterprises.
There are a number of NGOs, (Non Government Organizations), that work to raise the profile of entrepreneurship in the republic …
The Union of Entrepreneurs of Kyrgyzstan is a non-profit organization, established in 2002, which now claims to have more than 10000 members, 18 industrial associations and 16 regional associations and councils. It is one of several such associations, (for example the International Business Council, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Guild of Directors of Enterprises and the Union of Constructors), which collaborate to represent the interests of the business community; develop and implement a strategy and business policy for the country as a whole and for the various individual sectors of the economy; establish a conducive business environment; enhance the competitiveness of Kyrgyz businesses; concentrate all policies, actions and resources to achieve goals and ensure a vibrant economy and a decent life for the people of Kyrgyzstan.
As they put it:
Only businesses are able to make Kyrgyzstan:
- A great trading nation;
- A country of tourism and recovery programs;
- A country of manufacturing products and high quality;
- A country of an effective agriculture;
- A country of skilled human resources.
Bishkek