Entrepreneurship

ENTREPRENUERSHIP

By

O.A. Bamiro Professor of Mechanical Engineering Faculty of Technology University of Ibadan

Paper prepared for the Mandatory Continuing Professional Education (MCPE) Course for Prospective Corporate Members organized by Nigerian Society of Engineers

PREAMBLE First, I shall like to express my sincere gratitude to the Nigerian Society of Engineers for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts on this emerging subject with members of our dynamic profession. The issue of entrepreneurship has assumed an urgent dimension under the on-going globalization of the world economics. As engineers, we must appreciate the responsibility thrust on us towards salvaging our local economy. All that I seek to achieve in this short paper is: first, to sensitize readers to the challenges posed by the on-going economic globalization and the role of engineering entrepreneurship in the sustainable development of our economy; and second, as to be expected, carry out an expose on the basic concept of engineering entrepreneurship for the benefit of engineers, quite a number, I dare say, that are yet to be familiar with the term. In respect of the latter, I have drawn from experience of carrying out case studies of some Nigerian entrepreneurs to show that there are still positive developments in the economy despite the rather anti-business climate that seems to exist in the country – poor infrastructural support, high cost of doing business, multiple taxation, etc. I dare say that a true entrepreneur is never totally limited by environmental factors. The environment often times provides him or her with exploitable opportunities!

It is my hope that after going through the text, you will feel challenged to seek to acquire, in case you have not been borne with them, the entrepreneurial skill to become either an entrepreneur that owns his or her own business or an entrepreneur that works in a company or firm.

WHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP? It is not common to talk...