All Answers: Re: [pakgrid] Encouraging entrepreneurial experimentation

Wednesday 19 September 2012

Re: [pakgrid] Encouraging entrepreneurial experimentation

The following is based on a conversation with a very good friend of mine, who was speaking based on what he learnt from one of his American instructors while studying in Australia.

One of the biggest road blocks to innovation in countries like Pakistan is the stigma attached with failure. Have you ever been in a conversation with people whom you barely know in a situation where you were denied a US visa, Canadian Immigration, failed an entrance test, you name it? I am sure you would recall how they reminded you how easily their cousin (who actually isn't even technically a cousin) was successful at the same? These people with cousins in the right situations aren't aliens, they are me and you.

We can't blame one thing for all evil in any situation, and there are many other factors, too. But this is probably the most serious one. Also, as the article notes, the situation is improving (even if in some sectors). Let's hope for the best.

On Tue, Sep 18, 2012 at 3:45 PM, ARIF LODHI <arifbiochem@hotmail.com> wrote:

Encouraging entrepreneurial experimentation

The extreme poverty and social inequalities prevalent in our society will not be addressed without creating employment opportunities through promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship. Pakistan's abysmal state in this regard is evident from the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index (GEDI) where it is ranked at 133 out of 141 countries in 2012. Similarly, the Global Innovation Index (GII) by INSEAD ranked Pakistan at 105 out of 125 countries in 2011. Besides acute energy shortage and the resulting power outages, which have forced almost half of Pakistan's entrepreneurs to shut down their industrial operations and move their businesses elsewhere, Pakistan falls behind in many other important indicators as well. The most important factor is availability of human capital, where the UN Human Development Index (HDI) has ranked Pakistan at 145 out of 187 countries.

for more detail see

http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9-132553-Encouraging-entrepreneurial-experimentation

Regards

Arif

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"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan, 'Press on,' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race"Calvin Coolidge
"The aim of education must be the training of independently acting and thinking individuals who, however, can see in service to community their highest life achievement" Albert Einstein (1867-1934)

Muhammad Arif Lodhi. PhD (Biochemistry).
Address: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, CNRS, Laboratoire des Glucides, Universite des Picardie Jules Verne, 33 Rue St Leu,
80039 AMIENS, FRANCE
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