Entrepreneurs are a key source of employment and wealth in any economy. In Europe, for example, they account for 99 per cent of businesses and they provide two out of three private sector jobs. In the USA they accounted for 98 per cent of businesses in 2011 and for 82 per cent of employment in China.

Given their role in driving economic development, it is a positive indication that in the latest research report from Regus, 78 per cent of business respondents globally say entrepreneurship has increased in their sector in the last five years.

Another sign of growing business confidence is that more existing entrepreneurs are embarking on a second or further adventure and setting up another business (11 per cent). In addition, female entrepreneurship is on the rise, if moderately, with 11 per cent of respondents reporting an increasing presence of women entrepreneurs in their sector.

Global variation But not all sectors are regarded as ideal, and rich pickings are most likely to be achieved in IT and software (54 per cent). This confirms reports from across the globe; in Europe, the IT sector is expected to expand with employment growth of 7.7 per cent compared to an all-sector average of 3.4 per cent. In the US, home to Silicon Valley, employment in software development is set to rise a stunning 22 per cent. In the ASEAN region, the ICT sector already employs more than 11.7 million people, contributing to more than 3 per cent of area GDP and expected to experience further growth.

Consultancy is also seeing a positive upturn in many countries so it is not surprising that over a third (34 per cent) of respondents selected consultancy and business services as the sector with the greatest potential. In the USA, for example, over the next 12 months, 42 per cent of businesses plan to increase their consultancy spend. South Africa, too, is seeing a growing need for consultancy businesses.

But entrepreneurship is not just valuable to the national economy, and commentators are advocating that entrepreneurship be fostered within firms in order to ensure that the work environment focuses on innovation. They invite businesses to develop among their employees a type of internal entrepreneur referred to as an ‘intrapreneur’.

So, how can businesses encourage intrapreneurs to flourish? Respondents report that flexibility over working time and location (48 per cent), updating skills (42 per cent) and mixing staff from different functions (36 per cent) are key measures to help foster innovation within a business.

While updating skills is no doubt essential to ensure that workers are ahead of the curve and always aware of the latest trends and developments in the business, it is also important for workers to have the space to innovate independently.

Be flexible Flexible working not only taps into employee demand for a better work-life balance by allowing them to work their own hours and from different locations, such as closer to home (at least some of the time), it also gives workers an opportunity to take ownership of their time and follow pet projects.

By allowing employees to work from different locations, businesses can also help employees mingle with workers from different functions, giving them a more holistic view of the business and helping them acquire learning from other departments that may be applied to their own area.

By mixing with workers from other firms and from different sectors, they are even able to share ideas with a broader pool of professionals and to explore potential partnerships.

(The writer is COO, India, Regus, a provider of flexible workplaces)

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW