Basically, the term start-up was coined, by the 21st century entrepreneurs, who wanted their ventures to stand out and over the years.
The term got stuck and people now refer to entrepreneurship, as start-up. Why are start-ups relevant to the society?
According to Merriam-Webster, start-up means “the act, or, an instance, of setting in operation, or, motion, or, a fledgling business enterprise”.
Wikipedia defines it, as a company, initiated by individual founders, or, entrepreneurs, to search for a repeatable and scalable business model.
We can go on and on, defining the term, “start-up”, but one thing is common; start-ups are, basically, new ventures that may, or, may not scale, but have the potentials, to be a high revenue yielding venture.
Some years back, economies around the world, depended on natural resources for sustenance, but technology came and it became the game changer.
Countries started focusing on developing their human resources, which, in-turn ensures the development, prosperity and changes, in the socio-economic fabrics, of the society.
Start-up ventures, essentially, became necessities, for the development of a society.
Across the world, millions of jobs, have been created by start-ups and it will not be far-fetched, to say that, start-ups are one of the primary movers, in terms of the economic growth of a country.
Africa is battling with the issue of unemployment today because, African leaders have failed, to recognize the power of technology and human resources.
They have failed in giving credence to start-ups.
The significance and relevance of start-ups to a country, goes beyond creating jobs.
It stretches further, in-terms of solving socio-economic problems, besetting the country.
Below are, some of the significance and relevance of start-ups:
Increase In Economic Activities
Unemployment has always been the bane of the African countries and governments in Africa, have not been able to, successfully, tackle this issue.
About 60% of Africans are jobless and it has been on the rise, yearly.
Start-ups have ensured the buoyancy in economic activities, as the ecosystem is large and healthy enough, to accommodate job seekers.
Technological Advancement
A country can never claim to be technological inclined, if its people are not innovative, creating various innovative designs.
Start-ups help to increase the technological advancement of a country, through creative innovative designs, which in-turn, gives a country an edge, over others and also, helps a country to develop, at an exponential rate.
Increase A Country’s Wealth
According to the 2019 Global Start-up Ecosystem Report, (GSER), the global start-up economy, has generated $2.8 trillion, in economic value, in the last two years, with nearly 50 regions, worldwide, creating at least $4 billion each, in ecosystem value.
With this huge revenue, coming out of the ecosystem, the GDP of a country that embraces the development of its start-up ecosystem will, surely, increase.
Turning Cities Into Mega-cities
Across the world, start-ups are growing in leaps and bounds and they have been able to impact and turn around the cities, where they are located in.
Cities have been turned into mega-cities, via innovation.
Examples of such, is Silicon Valley, a region in Northern California, which serves as a home, to many start-ups and global technology companies.
Redmond was totally transformed, by Microsoft. Google’s Mountain View innovation, Infosys in Bangalore, Alibaba in Hangzhou, etc, are, also, examples of locations, where start-ups have transformed.
Healthy Economy
Buoyant start-ups lead to buoyant and healthy economy.
Once start-ups are playing their roles effectively, the country will, definitely, benefit immensely.
Finally, the relevance of start-ups in a nation, should never be underestimated, as it is one of the catalysts that accelerates the growth and development of a society, in all ramifications.
Featured Image: edition.cnn
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