According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), 22 per cent of Africa’s working-age population are starting businesses.
This is the highest entrepreneurship rate in the world. However, in spite of this, the contribution of these entrepreneurs to economic growth is limited.
The skills needed required of a successful entrepreneur and business owner can be classified into 2 groups, soft skills and hard skills.
Hard skills include technical skills like web development, networking, database administration, software engineering, and cybersecurity.
Soft skills, which include leadership, teamwork, creativity, adaptability and work ethic.
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1. Leadership
Leadership is the process of inspiring a group of people to move towards achieving a common goal. Necessary leadership skills that should be acquired include strategic thinking, planning and delivery, change management and innovation, persuasion and influencing, and decision-making.
2. Teamwork
A team consists of a group of people who work together to achieve a common goal. Teamwork speeds up the progress of a target or goal. Teamwork problem-solving skills include creativity, critical thinking, risk management, research, decision-making and resourcefulness.
3. Creativity
Creativity is finding new ways to perform tasks, improve processes or even develop new and exciting avenues for the business to explore. Creativity is the use of imagination or original ideas to invent something.
4. Adaptability
Is the ability to adapt to changes will go a long way in ensuring the success of any entrepreneur. Thw changes in processes, tools or clients can happen quickly and the ability to adapt is vital to the survival of any business.
5. Work Ethics
This is the ability to follow through on tasks and duties in a timely and efficient manner. Anyone could easily see why having a good work ethic will improve the success rate of an entrepreneur.
