Business

Creativity: the entrepreneur’s tool

Published

5 years ago

January 25, 2019

Eli Broad said, “Ideas, more than money, are the real currency for success….. People who just accept the status quo and conventional wisdom (don’t) make a difference in the world. It’s those that challenge it and do things differently who advance.”
Getting a business idea requires a lot of thinking, creativity, and research. Entrepreneurs are hard to come by.
Most people are satisfied working under someone else, however if you’re going to be different and you aspire to be an entrepreneur, you should bear in mind the following as you try to come up with business ideas that will transform your destiny.

In developing business ideas, think about a service or a product that will change other people’s lives and which they are prepared to pay for.
Try to relate this to your life or your neighbours whom you see are in need of this service or product. Creatively think how you can provide that service if it has not been provided before by anyone.
If it is already on the market but you feel you can still improve on it, then you need to look at your improvement and how unique that improvement is so that it can stand against the competition.
You might have to make a choice between making a product and providing a service. Each of these have advantages and disadvantages so you need to think these through.
Developing a product would entail investing in research and in manufacturing to produce it. This can be a big investment but can prove to be very lucrative if you manage to capture a good market share.

On the other hand providing a service will eliminate the need for developing and manufacturing a new product although you would need to hire staff if the business has to make an impact. You also have to think of how you will promote your service or product.
One of the ways to get business ideas flowing is to critically look at the product or service you are currently getting and try to identify a problem or problems inherent in the process.
If you feel frustrated in a product or the way service is being provided then know that you are not alone, there are a number of other people in the same situation who will quickly seize on the opportunity you want to provide to get an improved service or product.

In that case develop this idea into a business and launch your product or service before anyone does so that you get the first mover advantage.
In some cases, you don’t necessarily need to be solving a problem but what you are doing is seeing how you can do better on what is being offered currently.
It’s possible to carve a niche in the market from such a move. A good example, which is always quoted, is that of Google which developed an extremely accurate algorithm that improved searches on the internet.

In spite of there being a number of search engines, Google successfully improved on internet search engine capacity and as a result has taken over the search engine industry and has ended up setting a standard in the industry to such an extent that whenever you are looking for information on the internet you call it “googling.”
In developing the business ideas as above, you might need to do a preliminary consumer research to check on your idea or just to help you develop one based on people’s wants and needs.
Another way of doing this is using the internet to see what people usually search for on the internet and then see if you can provide that same service or product.

Someone once said that you need to create your own future if you have to survive in this turbulent world. Every successful entrepreneur is forward looking, he is an innovator.
You need to look at current trends, at current products and services and project into the future and think of ideas that will revolutionise that market.
Producers of smart phones outsmarted Nokia by coming up with an idea that looked ahead of its time and ended up revolutionising the mobile phone market and taking the bigger chunk of the mobile phone market share.
Nokia is now playing catch-up but the carpet has already been pulled off its feet by agile creative thinkers like Apple and Samsung.
As an employee or person in business, you might have acquired certain skills which could be creatively applied in another field. Skills in aeronautics could be used in developing a high speed car, for instance.

So you can creatively apply skills learned elsewhere to improve a completely different field and in the process revolutionise that field. Be open minded as you are thinking of your business ideas so that you consider those skills you have that can come in handy in another field.
Inspiration usually comes like a flash and quickly disappears. So you need to record all ideas that come your way.
The best way is to have a notebook on hand to write these brilliant ideas be they small or big, write them down; you don’t know what will change your world. Think over these ideas now and again and see how you can expand or improve them.

Being creative is like brainstorming on your own. You come up with this idea which might look stupid at first, don’t discard it.
You will be surprised that these seemingly stupid ideas might turn out to be that great business idea that will change the world and catapult you to prominence so just note the idea and think over it. Don’t be too critical of your “funny” ideas.

You need to create an environment for creativity. Others would dedicate an hour or two to think and write every idea that pops up and then follow it up later.
Others resort to taking walks. Research has shown that walking helps stimulate brain activity, particularly creativity.
You can also talk to people from diverse fields and these will help you think outside the box and look at things from a different angle.
A new viewpoint from other people can give your creativity a big boost. At times you should also give yourself the well needed break and let the brain rest. This can surprise you as the brain thinks of how certain problems can be tackled.

Keep thinking and being creative and change your world. The world needs great thinkers. Unconventional thinking could change your business landscape.
Do not be afraid to challenge the status quo. You are currently only using about 10 percent or less of your thinking capacity. Imagine if you increase this to 15 percent, then we will change our world.

l Stewart Jakarasi is a business and financial strategist and a lecturer in business strategy (ACCA P3), advanced performance management (P5) and entrepreneurship.
He is the Managing Consultant of Shekina Consulting (Pty) Ltd and provides advisory and guidance on leadership, strategy and execution, corporate governance, preparation of business plans, tender documents and on how to build and sustain high-performing organisations.
For assistance in implementing some of the concepts discussed in these articles please contact him on the following contacts: sjakarasi@gmail.com, call on +266 58881062 or WhatsApp +266 62110062 .

Business

Jobs galore for Lesotho

Published

2 weeks ago

April 9, 2024

The Post

94 000 jobs.

That is what the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA-Lesotho) will create in the next 10 years, according to Prime Minister Sam Matekane.

The MCA-Lesotho was created by the Lesotho parliament last year after the United States’ Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) found Lesotho eligible to receive development funds.

The MCC gives development grants to poor countries that respects democratic principles and human rights.

The MCC has unlocked a staggering US$322 million (over M5 billion) to the government of Lesotho after the country enacted three laws the protect people’s basic rights this week.

Matekane advised youths to visit MCA-Lesotho offices to understand how best they can benefit from the fund and the projects that will be financed.

The MCC’s investments are aimed at increasing the availability of water for household and industrial use, enhance watershed management and conservation methods, rehabilitate health infrastructure and strengthen health systems, and remove barriers to private investment.

The MCA-Lesotho’s Health and Horticulture Compact seeks to assist the country in unlocking equitable and sustainable economic growth in partnership with the private sector by addressing key constraints to growth.

Matekane said the job creation potential of the horticulture project alone is estimated at 4 000 jobs.

This excludes indirect jobs that will be created through packaging supplies, logistics, cold chain activities as well as the processing of the output.

“Let us all be ready and ensure we spend all the funding that is available,” Matekane said.

He said the money is going to be invested in agriculture, trade and industry, value chains, infrastructure development, tourism and creative sectors.

“The Compact has come at a critical time when the country is in dire need of financial injections to revive the economy,” he said.

“This second Compact forms the core of Lesotho’s private sector-led economic growth, recovery and job creation agenda.”

He said the MCA staff should work diligently, to implement this Compact.

“There are several Basotho businesses out there that are eager to seize the opportunities that the Compact brings,” Matekane said.

“Serve them with integrity, accountability and dedication.”

Matekane said the government has established the Cabinet Sub-Committee on the Compact which is under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister Nthomeng Majara.

The sub-committee is mandated to ensure that the government provides overall oversight, strategic direction and support for successful implementation of the Compact.

He said he expects the MCA-Lesotho to ensure the full implementation of the project within the next five years.

“Our economy needs this capital injection to boost productivity and job creation,” Matekane said.

Matekane said the government had to enact three pieces of legislation which were necessary to support the investments that the MCC is making.

The enacted laws are the Labour Code Amendment Bill, the Administration of Estates and Inheritance Bill and the Occupational Safety and Health Bill.

Majara Molupe

Business

Bank spearheads career expo

Published

3 weeks ago

April 2, 2024

The Post

Standard Lesotho Bank will tomorrow host a career expo at the ’Manthabiseng Convention Centre for high school students who will sit for their final exams this year.
The 14th Annual Standard Lesotho Bank Career Expo was launched in Mokhotlong on Monday where the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) welcomed students in areas around the Polihali Dam construction site.

On Tuesday the expo was at the Butha-Buthe Community High School, yesterday it was at Assumption High School in Teya-Teyaneng while today it is in Quthing at Holy Trinity High School.

The five-day nationwide event is dedicated to connecting ambitious Basotho youths with exciting career opportunities.

Standard Lesotho Bank says it’s career expo “is a cornerstone of the bank’s commitment to empowering Basotho youth and shaping the future of Lesotho’s workforce”.

The 2024 edition of the event is the 14th where the bank is now the headline sponsor of this important expo that reaches about over 10 000 students countrywide.

The expo promises to be an even better offering where over 35 institutions of higher learning from Lesotho and South Africa as well as professional bodies will explain different career options to Basotho students.

Standard Lesotho Bank communications manager, Manyathela Kheleli, said students in Mokhotlong did not only learn about different engineering disciplines but got to appreciate engineering in action at Polihali.

He said it was a lifetime experience for students from Mokhotlong, “thanks to the collaboration with LHDA, who are fully responsible for the Polihali leg of the event”.

There were also motivational speakers from different professions in the bank and other selected institutions.

Key influencers in the football fraternity, former Likuena captain and now Corporate Responsibility Manager at Letšeng Diamonds, Tšepo Hlojeng, and former Orlando Pirates dribbling wizard, Steve Lekoelea, are among the influencers that have been invited to address the students.

The event is a sponsorship initiative under Personal and Private Banking that is open to all youths, communities, and individuals, where the bank intends to use this event to drive the new Youth or student Customer Value Proposition and attract high school students to open accounts ahead of their enrolment into tertiary institutions.

The objective of this sponsorship is to first create an environment where future leaders of Lesotho will be nurtured and informed of top career choices that demonstrate various skills requirements for the growth of Lesotho’s economy.

Secondly, the career expo is a clear demonstration of the bank’s intention to put youths at the centre of its initiatives.

This position is shown by the bank’s initiative to not only develop special products for youths, such as the Youth Account but also through several initiatives that promote youth empowerment. These include the bursary scheme and the Bacha Entrepreneurship Project.

“We are more than a bank for our youths, but a good corporate citizen and a partner for the education for Basotho,” Kheleli said.

“We believe that as we grow our youths, they will become assets to this country and by extension, develop into a feeder market for our banking products when they enter the job market,” he said.

The bank has invested M150 000 towards sponsorship of the annual Career Expo.

Staff Reporter

Business

Ministry launches fresh industrialisation drive

Published

3 weeks ago

April 2, 2024

The Post

A new policy to drive industrialisation in Lesotho was launched in Maseru this week.
The Lesotho National Industrialisation Policy 2024–2028 is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Trade.

The ministry says the policy seeks to accelerate economic diversification in the industrial base, enhance productivity and productive capacity for industrialisation and advance domestic and regional value chains for industrialisation.

It also seeks to promote and develop industrial clustering, promote inclusive industrialisation, support entrepreneurship development and strengthen business linkages.
The new policy will also seek to enhance energy efficiency and sustainability, promoting technology adoption and innovation, services-based industrialisation, and stimulating agro-based industrialisation.

This is not the first time Lesotho has launched an industrialisation policy. Previous policies have all failed.

The first attempt was the 2015–2017 industrial policy, whose aim was to accelerate the industrialisation agenda and address key challenges facing the country.

The second one was the 2018–2023 policy, which after its unsuccessful execution during the three years of implementation, the government extended it to the National Strategic Development Plan Strategic Focus (2023/24-2027/28).

The new industrial policy’s target is set to activate implementation on innovation to enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of domestic industries, create decent jobs and improve the welfare of Basotho.

Thabo Moleko, the Ministry of Trade Principal Secretary, said the implementation of the new policy is set to deepen economic growth, promote industrialisation and enhance competitiveness.

“The plan includes greater investment in industrial development with the intention to create employment and incomes while building on maintaining the existing industrial trade,” Moleko said.

Mamello Nchake, a consultant for the United Nations Economic Commission of Africa (UNECA), said the development goals of the industrial policy are set to ensure an achievable inclusiveness and equitable growth as they aim to create sector-led quality jobs for Basotho.

Nchake said the goals are meant to “develop and maintain enabled infrastructure that is critical to the private sectors and also to promote gender equality, environmental and climate risk management”.

“Moreover, the policy (will seek to) harness the collaboration with private sector firms to address common challenges and promote industrialisation,” she said.

The workshop discussed constraints that hindered the implementation of the 2018 – 2023 policy that undermined investment and trade opportunities.

The constraints include access to land for investment, inadequate provision of infrastructure, an outdated and a lack of appropriate regulatory environment, low productive capacity, market size and topological constraints, unstable macroeconomic environment, external factors, and over-dependency of trade preferences.

To address the strategic objectives, the previous industrial policies had proposed tax incentives for industrial development, trade policy and regional integration as the main vehicle for industrialisation and structural transformation.

They had also proposed mechanisms for policy coordination and implementation, institutional alignment and linkages.

However, several key challenges were identified in the implementation of the 2015-2017 industrial policy.

They included limited financial and investment capacity to effectively implement the industrial policy actions.

“Financing instruments are not aligned with the level of development needs of the private sector,” stakeholders heard at the workshop.

They also heard that there is “persistent dependency on few industries that poses risks in the face of global economic uncertainties and ever-changing consumer preferences”.
Another identified problem is limited investment climate that makes it costly for foreign firms to invest in Lesotho.

It was also observed that a shortage of specialised education and skills crucial for growth of industries impact the ability of firms to adopt advanced technologies and improve productivity and the productive capacity.

Stakeholders also heard that there is limited global competitiveness and access to global markets.

Lesotho’s industries, they heard, particularly textiles and garments, face competition from other low-cost manufacturing countries.

The country is also spooked by poor coordination between the implementing agencies due to a lack of a clear implementation framework.

Khahliso ’Molaoa