“Entrepreneurship” A Valuable Tool For Achieving Economic Prosperity In Under-developed Countries.

In recent decades the role of entrepreneurs have made a significant impact in accelerating the pace and development in both the developed and underdeveloped countries.
There is growing realization that both quality and quantity of entrepreneurs, is of utmost significance for achieving organizational goals of individual firms and economic development of a country.
Entrepreneurial functions as identified by Peter Kilby comprises of introduction of new products and services, new techniques of production, identifying the market for the product, production aspects, managing finance and human resources, up gradation of processes and products and last but not least to maintain customer and supplier relations.
Entrepreneurship is the process of creating new products and services for the consumers, by utilizing the factors of production like land, labor, capital and enterprise, combined with financial, economic and social risks with the aim of revenue generation and profit maximization.
Entrepreneurship is very important for the overall development of a country. It affects everyone in the society in some way or the other. The demands of the consumers and the market are simultaneously met only by production of different types of products and services offered by entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship contributes to the welfare of the society in the following ways:

• Capital formation for proper channelization of investments and other financial resources for economic development.

• Improvement in per capita income of the weaker sections of the society for removing regional imbalances in the society.

• Generation of employment opportunities for the rural and the urban population.

• Balanced regional development in order to uplift the rural sector by providing assistance to small scale industries and rapid industrialization.

• To increase the availability and widen the distribution of basic life sustaining amenities such as food, shelter, health and protection and general welfare of the society.

• To improve the standard of living including, in addition to higher incomes, the provision of more jobs, better education, and greater attention to cultural and humanistic values.

• To expand the range of economic and social choices available to individuals and the nation.

Export promotion of Primary, Secondary, and tertiary sector and traditional industries like handlooms, handicrafts and promotion of small scale sector for providing alte
ative employment opportunities besides agriculture and to help developing countries improve balance of trade and balance of payment in international markets.

Encouragement of women entrepreneurs for economic independence and empowerment through education, employment, training, and development.
Womens participation in small, medium, and large scale enterprises is increasing considerably.

Small-scale sector in India over the past 50 years has made significant contributions towards building a strong national economy.
The overall development of under-developed countries depends a lot on the level of industrialization achieved by its people.
The government has also started taking initiatives by providing various types of incentives and subsidies to the small scale industries for improving their economic condition and also providing employment, thereby increasing the standard of living of the rural masses. The women in the rural sector have immense potential and expertise in art and craft, handloom, food products like papad, pickles, spices, clay utensils, bamboo baskets etc.
Business Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs constitute the following areas cosmetics and Beauty Parlors, Garments and Boutiques, Education and Training, Interior Decoration, playschools and Creches, Handicrafts, 3P's (Pickles, Powder [spices] and Papad)
There were more than 2,95,680 women entrepreneurs in India during 1995-96.
Small scale units create more self- employment opportunities with less capital investment requirements, the raw materials are locally based and there is less environmental pollution. Small firms require simple technology and low managerial skills. Export promotion of products developed by small sacle industries help to earn valuable foreign exchange and preserve the balance of payment status.
India needs entrepreneurs in order to capitalise on new opportunities and to create wealth and new jobs. A recent McKinsey & Company-Nasscom report estimates that India needs at least 8,000 new businesses to achieve its target of building a $ 87 billio
IT sector by 2008.

The first generation entrepreneurs often look at short term profit gains as their ultimate goals. But in the long-run, this approach is not feasible if the entrepreneur has to build a stable and sustainable business. The firms should focus on where the revenue will come from and when it will overtake break-even and start making profits. Profit timeframes is different in different businesses and service establishments. The focus of the entrepreneur should be on increasing their market share and increasing their current and potential customer database at the same time trying to provide high quality products to their present consumers.
The entrepreneur should incorporate business ethics in their day to day business activities if they have to build goodwill and positive brand image in the society. This is very essential in today’s competitive business scenario and companies are now focusing on incorporating Corporate Social responsibility as an integral part of their business establishment. nn nnn