Tenderprenuers VS Entreprenuers

I read with great interest the article in Mmegi about Tenderprenuers vs  Entreprenuers. It is a very hot issue  among the populace where people are comparing the economies of scale between conceptualizing ideas and turning them into innovative and tangible solutions  and  running after tenders to cash into that lucrative G.P.O.(Government Purchase Order).

Lets examine this issue closely. Entrepreneurship involves a life long carer where the individual creates a platform that innovate and improves the livelihood of those around the environment with tangible and sustainable solutions. Investopedia defines it with more granularity:
                             
"...An individual who, rather than working as an employee, runs a small business and assumes all the risk and reward of a given business venture, idea, or good or service offered for sale..."
    -----http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/entrepreneur.asp

 Tenderprenuership is  a term coined recently that seeks to marry tender chasers or "tender-boys" with a career that involves nothing than the chance of acquiring or winning a tender to provide a service or procure certain items for the procuring entity.

Notice that the end goal of both practices is acquiring money or generating income. However the only difference is that with entreprenuership one assumes the  total responsibility even if it is owning the whole value chain from beginning to end. Tenderprenuers feature just on a certain part of the value chain and act as "middleman" if you may more than anything else.

In  Botswana, where tenderprenuership is rife, the notion of a quick buck has reached new frenzy. It  is alleged that the parties involved could embark on unfair measures that embark on award of tenders unfairly. What are the implications:
 1. lack of innovation
2. unsustainable economies of scale
3. inflation of prices
4. poor service delivery or lack of support.

The quick buck mentality is influenced by a vast array of factors. First in a country where the economy is not diversified as it should be, where unemployment runs amok and countless degree-laden graduates are roaming the street, "hustle" is the quick way out. Most start with a simple stationery procument deal and if the  S.O. (Suppliers Officer) is impressed they usually stick to the same procurer.

The barriers to entry are high, competition cut throat effectuated in part by the"un-ease" of doing business which stems from the process of trying to register a trading entity. The gravity of this difficulty is illustrated by trying to get a trading licence. A process and a half. For those few who break through and manage to price according to the Least Cost Estimates & Technical Evaluation favoring the get to enjoy the spoils.

Why is entrepreneurship not  revered by the masses?Don't get me wrong, there a re entrepreneurs out there. Three of my mentors are highly successful entrepreneurs. The problem is an issue of information asymmetry and ideas obfuscated by the notion of a 'quick buck'. To give an example in the US of A, you approach an investor with a brilliant idea ( assuming its well researched), half of the time you can get funds through crowd sourcing, group sourcing and angel investing. Mind you before you even consider national grants or funding by big entities.

Here in my beloved motherland, you are turned back to register a company (encounter the obstacles that tenderprenuers encounter during their start-up mis-adventures), told to draw a conducive business plan, do projections, environmental feasibility study and find a farm with a borehole. Oh yes, I wish I was just joking. Many of our ideas when presented in front of relevant bodies or authorities, we are met with puzzled and perplexed looks of "not in Botswana ngwanaka you are too ambitious".

We need to be pro-active. Embrace new ideas. We need to follow examples of multi-national companies that embrace and reward innovation. Invest in technology. Understand risk is part of entrepreneurship and business. We need to be entrepreneurs and tenders need to be cause of and effect from entrepreneurship. The economy relies on SMEs and if 80% of SMEs are tenderpreneurs, then we have a problem.

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