The story of entrepreneurship in the twentieth century was about individuals who got access to sophisticated capital in a few advanced markets and created massive economies of scale. That’s how AT&T, Home Depot, and Microsoft swiftly made their way onto the Fortune 500. But in the twenty-first century, a very different story is unfolding.
Today entrepreneurs anywhere can create value with relatively little capital. Barriers to entry in almost every industry have come crashing down, opening vast opportunities for small companies. These developments are especially apparent in emerging markets, where we’re seeing signs that an entrepreneurial economy is ready to bloom. We’ve spent the past two years studying entrepreneurship in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia, and we’ve found hundreds of world-class ventures poised for significant growth there. Most people’s assumptions about entrepreneurship in the developing world—that entrepreneurs either don’t exist there or are microentrepreneurs—are wrong. High potential ventures are surfacing where no one is looking for them—in Beirut instead of Boston, in Cape Town instead of Silicon Valley—among people who have historically been outside the economic power structure.
To read the full, original article click on this link: The High-Intensity Entrepreneur - Harvard Business Review
Author: Anne S. Habiby and Deirdre M. Coyle, Jr.
