NILE UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA

Dr. Ali Nyangwarimam Obadiah

Department of Computer Engineering

ali.obadiah@nileuniversity.edu.ng
 NILE UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA

Lecture 1
Origin & Concepts of Entrepreneurship
Lecture Outline

❑ Entrepreneurship – Origin
❑ What is entrepreneurship
❑ Who is an entrepreneur
❑ Types of entrepreneur
❑ Characteristics of an entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship for Engineers 1

I. Entrepreneurship – Origin

❖Entrepreneur is derived from the French

concept “entreprendre” which literarily is
equivalent to the English concept “to undertake”.
From the business point of view, to undertake
simply means to start a business.

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II. & III. Definitions of Entrepreneurship & Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship refers to all the processes and activities

involved in establishing, nurturing, and sustaining a business
enterprise. [CONCISELY]

Entrepreneurship: is Self-employment of any sort; the

activity that involves identifying opportunities within the economic
system; the creation of new organizations; the willingness and ability
of an individual to seek out investment opportunities in an
environment & be able to establish and run an enterprise successfully
based on the identifiable opportunities. [EXPLICITLY]
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II. & III. Definitions of Entrepreneurship & Entrepreneur

Thus, from the definitions above we can see that while defining the
concept ‘entrepreneurship’, laid emphasis on a wide spectrum of
activities such as:
❖ Self-employment of any sort.
❖ Creation of organizations.
❖ Innovation applied to a business context.
❖ The combination of resources.
❖ Identification and exploitation of opportunities within the economic system or
market.
❖ The bringing together of factors of production under uncertainty.

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II. & III. Definitions of Entrepreneurship & Entrepreneur

We can therefore conclude that whatever activity that

involves any or all of the above activities can be regarded
as entrepreneurship.
It should also be noted that though most entrepreneurial
businesses start small, entrepreneurs are not only small
business owners; they can also be big business owners.

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II. & III. Definitions of Entrepreneurship & Entrepreneur

Intrapreneurs: in situations where an entrepreneur is not

able to establish his or her own business and as such has to
work in an organization.
So, an Intrapreneur is an entrepreneur work within an existing
organization to pursue the exploitation of business
opportunities.

These individuals are entrepreneurs in their own right because they

pursue the exploitation of business opportunities as they emerge
and are also visionaries within a given organization. Thus, once
identified, these individuals should be encouraged to manifest their
entrepreneurial abilities to the benefit of the organization otherwise
they will be frustrated and may leave the organization or start their
own businesses.
II. & III. Definitions of Entrepreneurship & Entrepreneur

Technopreneur: is an individual whose

business is in the realm of high technology, who
has the spirit of an entrepreneur - a
technological innovator and a business man all
combined in one individual
IV. Types of entrepreneur

Innovative, Imitating, Fabian and Drone.

Innovative: they introduce something new into the

market. They are interested in innovations and invest
substantially in research and development.
Imitating: a. k. a. ‘copy cats’ : They observe an
existing system and replicate it in a better manner.
They could improve on an existing product,
production process, technology and through their
vision create something similar but better. This is the
case of the student becoming better than the master!
IV. Types of entrepreneur

Innovative, Imitating, Fabian and Drone.

Fabian: they are very careful and cautious in

adopting any changes. Apart from this, they are
lazy and shy away from innovations.

Drone: they are resistant to change. They are

considered as ‘old school’.
They prefer to stick to their traditional or
orthodox methods of production and systems.
IV. Types of entrepreneur
Innovative, Imitating, Fabian and Drone.
V. Characteristics of an Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurs are motivated to become entrepreneur

due to certain factors or circumstances.

Creativity: Entrepreneurship entails innovations. It

deals with product innovation, production techniques
innovation while bearing in mind the market;

Dynamic: Entrepreneurship is a dynamic process

that has to bear in mind the dynamic business
environment.
V. Characteristics of an Entrepreneur

-Purposeful: Entrepreneurship is an activity

embarked upon for a specific purpose. This could be
for profit making purposes, for humanitarian
purposes or to bring a difference to the market.

Technical Knowledge: Depending on the kind of

venture created, the entrepreneur must have
technical expertise about production techniques and
marketing.
V. Characteristics of an Entrepreneur

-Risk-Taker: The business environment is dynamic

and filled with uncertainties and risk. Successful
entrepreneurs take calculated risks and in some cases
shift the risks to others.

-Total Commitment: creating a new business is a

serious exercise that requires a lot of commitment
and hard work.

-Calm: They have to remain calm even when exposed

to stress, emergency or crisis situations.

-Focused: pay attention to a lot of details.

V. Characteristics of an Entrepreneur

-Confidence in the Face of Difficulties and

Discouraging Circumstances: The entrepreneur
must be steadfast and resolute and be ready to move
on even in the face of adversity.

-Innovative skills: The entrepreneur may not

necessarily be an 'inventor' but the one that can make
a difference.

-Results-Orientated: know how to get results under

any circumstances. The entrepreneur does this by
setting goals and ensuring that such goals are
doggedly pursued by all concerned.
V. Characteristics of an Entrepreneur

-Tolerance: relate with people. People vary in terms

of their perceptions, personality, motivations and
attitudes. The entrepreneur needs to be tolerant
while not being weak.

-Balance: entrepreneur has to be able to balance all

emotions and characteristics and remain focused and
objective while having emotional or mental strength
and resilience.

-Versatility: The entrepreneur has to be versatile and

be ready to learn and use information technology and
other technology to the best advantage.
 SUMMARY
*What is entrepreneurship

*Types of entrepreneur

*Characteristics of an entrepreneur