The Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) has said Africa needs to break out from a vicious cycle of poverty with its attendant socio-economic disequilibrium.
This, the CIS stated, can be achieved through optimal utilisation of the capital market to finance and drive entrepreneurship.
The acting President and Chairman of Council, CIS, Oluwaseyi Abe, stated this in his opening address at the 19th annual stockbrokers’ conference in Lagos.
The African continent, Abe added, can break out from the vicious cycle of poverty into prosperity when entrepreneurs and governments develop a dominant and pervasive culture of financing ventures and projects through the capital markets.
“Among other advantages, the capital market mechanism optimally allocates capital and enhances economic performance. It provides a window through venture capitalism for the growth of small and medium scale enterprises and catalyses industrial growth faster. It engenders pro-poor growth through greater employment opportunities, creates greater opportunities for home ownership and promotes macro- economic stability, “he said.
He said the theme of this year’s conference, ‘’Entrepreneurship and the Capital Market: Fast Tracking a New Economy for Africa,” is indicative of “our pan- African sentiment.” He added: “The importance of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs in economic development cannot be overemphasised.
Entrepreneurship has been defined as the capacity and willingness to develop, organise and manage a business venture along with any of its risks in order to make a profit. It is also a journey of opportunity exploration and risk management to create value for profit and /or social good.
“A typical entrepreneur is someone of very high mental aptitude, who pioneers change and possesses characteristics found only in a small fraction of the population. He or she translates an innovative idea into new demand to create substantial wealth with more rapidity than the ordinary business owner.
“But generally speaking, an entrepreneur is someone who has opted to work for himself or herself, and be an employer of labour. He/she develops a business from ground up-comes up with an idea and turns it into a profitable business. Whichever be the case, the idea is to establish the link between entrepreneurship and the capital market to create synergy for a quantum leap.”
