Last week saw Global entrepreneurship week being celebrated in the UK. This gave SME and small business owners the opportunity to reflect on the accomplishments of their entrepreneurial endeavours, while also giving aspiring self-starters a chance to enrich their knowledge via talks and seminars. Taking place in 170 countries, the theme for this year included youth, gender and inclusion. 

Gender/Female empowerment

With emphasis on this year’s themes, we see that the ability to encourage women and other historically marginalised groups into starting a business and creating jobs, this is a universal affair that affects both developed western societies as well and economically unstable traditional ones. However, the aim of Global Entrepreneurship week is to tackle such inequality and encourage inclusion. This is a passionate topic for our CEO, Felicia who is a trailblazer in the SME community as she often addresses gender issues and equality. As a result she has won awards for being an influential leader within the industry.

In the UK, it was important that the message regarding its status about business and Brexit was made clear. Even though the geopolitical climate is making international relations more difficult, Britain is open for business and welcomes international partners.

Youth & Inclusivity

As a result, young people from diverse backgrounds and their inclusivity within business was an important theme.  With graduates leaving university and unable to secure employment, such events can aid them into their entrepreneurial journey, creating the idea of ‘If I cannot get a job, I can make one’. Factually speaking, young people in the UK are twice as likely to be unemployed compared to adults. Akoni assists the youth with the creation of our cash management platform, this system makes it easier to see and control their money.  Additionally, the international recognition of Global entrepreneurship week sends a message to marginalised groups that they can achieve success in business no matter their status (race, gender, age etc…). This was evident in Startup Open, a competition that identifies potential business that can achieve a high growth.

Furthermore to competitions and events, workshops and seminars targeting entrepreneurs of different stages are also provided. An example is in the UK a seminar was conducted titled ‘How to start your OWN business in one week’ and another ‘Labour relations agency information session’.

The purpose of Global Entrepreneurship week and its benefits  

It is a fact that over one third the population say they want to start their own business but in reality, less than 7% actually do. Why is this may we ask? They do not seem to be able to access support and guidance regarding questions that may arise in the process, and gatherings such as this are designed to be that support and question hub they require.

To conclude, entrepreneurs are vital to any society that wishes to progress, as they fuel the economy and have the capability to determine the way we live and work. Furthermore, the creation of jobs are a necessity for a thriving society. As a result of globalisation and the increased interconnectivity of the world, having diversity within an enterprise is imperative to its success. At Akoni, we are proud to say that due to our diverse team we are able to provide businesses with unique services that are disrupting the market.

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