Arif Husain Senior Student, Bachelor of Business Administration Program

1. Mapping the Connections: Entrepreneurship, Energy, and Education as Gateways towards Poverty Reduction Arif Husain Senior Student, Bachelor of Business Administration Program Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John’s, Canada

2. Introduction • Poverty has been an issue throughout mankind’s history • Being unable to solve this issue is a testament of its complexity and the many variables it accompanies • Income divides between rich and poor continues to widen, depicted like a pyramid • 4 billion people are surviving on less than $2 per day • The world has been ill-informed of the unique characteristics of the poor

3. Pay more for commodities as compared to the rich • Corporate community has been hesitant to market their commodities to the poor • Monopolistic business environment exists Source: (Parahalad et al. 2002)

4. Easily adopt and learn new technologies • Gaineda glimpse of the world inwhich to pursue their aspirations • Rapid advancements in ICT • India and China have witnessed an exponential growth in wireless communications • Reveals the ability of the poor to easily learn and adopt new technologies • Transformation has many benefits in creating an entrepreneurial environment

5. Valuable resources to help avert world crisis • Resource-based capacity of the poor is large and influential • World population is expected to increase • Increase in world population = Increase in demand in food supply • Demand for cereals will increase 35% (IFPRI 2000) • Transformation from traditional methods of agriculture to innovative technologies

6. Interconnections between entrepreneurship, energy, and education

7. Why renewable energy matters for poverty reduction? • In poverty stricken conditions, current forms of electricity are: • Inadequate, unreliable, and ungoverned • Pose significant risks • Poorer countries have one the lowest levels of per capita electricity • New mechanism of generating electricity is required • does not pollute the environment, nor cause respiratory illnesses • is not correlated to major events in the oil and gas market

8. Implementing renewable energy in poverty-stricken regions • Public-private partnership • Culture of the private sector is reason for success • Role of governments should be reduced • Corporations must be given more leverage to interact directly with the respective communities • Must be achieved first nationally, and then unanimously at a global level

9. Entrepreneurship for poverty reduction: the value chain model Seed design Growing Post-harvest processing Exporting Retailing Consumption • Agriculture is a primary business for those living in most poverty-strickencountries. • vital for them to preserve this resource, and consider it as a gateway from which to reap considerable benefits • Using the value chain model to describe the agricultural industry (Kaplinsky 2004)

10. Cost structure of African fresh produce exported to the United Kingdom Stage One ton export of mangetout from Zimbabwe to the UK Price per ton (Pound Sterling) % Of final price Producer 630 11.9 Exporter 291 5.5 Packaging 274 5.2 Air freight and handling 1,036 19.6 Total price before entering the UK 2,230 42.2 Importer charges and commission 624 11.8 Supermarket stock out 714 13.5 Other costs 285 5.4 Markup 1,427 27.0 TOTAL PRICE 5,281 100.0 Source: (Kaplinsky 2004)

11. Upgrading in the value chain model through technological capabilities Higher return is offered to farmers Many intermediaries are deleted Collaboration with major tea and coffee outlets Support from lobbyists Unbranded Many competitors Consumers pay little attention to brand, but more on quality and price Fair trade programs (tea and coffee industry) Fruit and vegetable industry

12. Proposed routes for upgrading in the agricultural value chain model • Coordinating logistics • Understand and implement relevant regulations • Develop large storage facilities • Understand market demands • Employ equipment to ensure automation of various tasks • Diversify into Canned Deciduous Fruits (CDF) • Major hurdles exist • Inter-firm collaboration • Reduce tariffs and create favorable trade policies

13. Education as a gateway for poverty reduction

14. Basic education • Heightened awareness of education, but not homogenous • Replacing education with work in labor-intense industries • Encompass basic skills • Fail to provide proper governance and security of students • Recommendations: • Focus on application-based problems • Traditional school system must be re-organized • Attainment of a stepwise grade school system and numerous diplomas must be discouraged

15. Vocational training programs • Gaining hands-on experience on locally produced resources • Divide exists between scientific fields and entrepreneurship as a viable career option • Not gained the same prestige as other occupations • Resources of the poor are large, and proper establishment can only be realized through entrepreneurship • Recommendations: • Re-evaluate the role of national governments • Required testing • Additional resources must be provided to schools • Proper mechanism for the recruitment and retention of teachers

16. Research and Development (R&D) • Robust gateway for local and national competitiveness • Poverty can be attributed due to lower spending in R&D • Requires partnerships with the private sector to ensure effective commercialization • Governments must: • Establish Centers of Excellence • Create tax incentives and provide adequate resources • Recognize its importance and consequences for not doing so

17. Conclusion • To build a culture of entrepreneurship on the principles of innovativeness and technological capabilities, education and renewable energy are pre-requisites • Educated workforce with the necessary skills • Innovativeness through R&D activities • Requires adequate and reliable supply of renewable energy • Common theme of proper governance is visible • Role of the private sector cannot be ignored

18. Thank You Questions and/or Comments