Entrepreneur Discovery Program
More Detailed Description
This is a program to identify/discover entrepreneurs, and then guide, coach, and fund them to “do the doing” of enhancing the economy in their country. The beauty of this model is that it doesn’t depend upon having to find and train local business owners, who in turn would go out and set up microbusinesses—in hopes of finding and enrolling potential entrepreneurs to get involved.
The Entrepreneur Discovery Program model goes directly to potential entrepreneurs! They demonstrate their ability to be entrepreneurs by completing a course. It consists of 5 intense classes. Each class is 3 days long. The course spans several months. Some will drop out along the way and some will complete the course.
Here is an example of how the numbers might work. While each starting class would actually have 25 students (ages 21 – 50), to make the math easy, let’s pretend 100 adult students start the level 1 class. They have to qualify, by documenting homework projects, to enter each next advanced level class. By end of the level 5 class many weeks later, we may have only 8, 10 or 12 students out of the beginning 100 who started. However, they are very capable and highly motivated people! They will have proved, through the documented homework projects, that they are:
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Self-starters
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Determined
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Creative
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Able to follow through,
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Eager to learn,
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Highly motivated to make money,
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Dedicated to “making a difference” in their society through economic development.
The nature of the homework projects is such that they have to be “doers”, otherwise they won’t complete, and document, the homework. However, this is not a “wash-out” program.
The students for the first class are selected/recommended by community leaders—called “Field Agents.” The Field Agents recommend people whom they perceive to have a natural capacity to become entrepreneurs. They are perceived to be entrepreneurs “in the rough” who, with some direction and encouragement, are highly likely to become successful entrepreneurs. If all one hundred starting students emerge a year later having successfully completed the entire program—that would be wonderful! Their country would be blessed with a great influx of entrepreneurs! However, it is likely that many, while getting benefits from the course before they drop out, will not be sufficiently motivated to complete the necessary homework to gain admission to the next and more advanced class.
Those who successfully complete the entire program will be encouraged to form a functioning work group, elect a facilitator, and work together to plan and execute a program of microbusiness economic development. They will do such things as determine projects, set goals, discover funding sources when needed, establish timelines, and more. They will earn money themselves, and cause their employees, suppliers, merchants, and others to make more money too. By following their natural capacity to be entrepreneurs, they help all to prosper.