Shun attempts to industrialise - Kama boss

Despite calls for the country to use industrialisation as a strategy to develop, an entrepreneur and Council Chairman of the Pentecost University College, Dr. Michael Agyekum Addo, has said that developing entrepreneurs is the blue-print for developing the country.

In what could be viewed as a controversial stance that contradicts established thinking among many development experts, he said the efforts of policymakers to drive growth through industrialisation will not be in the best interests of the economy.

Just this week, the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union warned that the industrial sector in the country is facing imminent collapse -- with possibly dire consequences for jobs -- under the weight of unbridled competition from abroad. Around a decade ago, the industrial sector accounted for more than a tenth of GDP, but this has since fallen to less than seven percent.

Dr. Agyekum, who is also the founder and CEO of Kama Group of Companies, however explained that the country missed the era for industrialisation about four decades ago, and attempts to industrialise should be rather directed toward building and encouraging entrepreneurs to take the front seat in order to make the 21st century relevant to Ghanaians.

“If we are talking about industrialisation, I would say it is too late. I hear both government and opposition parties talking about the need to start industrialising the country, but the era of industrialisation are over -- all over the world.

“Right now, the more you industrialise the more unemployment you even create; because in industries now, machines do the work from start to finish. Only a few people are required to work in the industrial sector now. We don’t need human beings anymore. Luckily for us, there is a new revolution that we must not miss. The world has now tilted towards entrepreneurship.

“We are now in an entrepreneurial revolution, and this era is all about using the brain to create jobs where others cannot see.” Dr. Agyekum said this at an induction ceremony for students newly-admitted into the Pentecost University Graduate School.

He admonished the graduate students to develop critical thinking and imaginative capabilities in order to be relevant in the new entrepreneurial era. He said the way forward is for the country to start developing entrepreneurs by encouraging people to use the right-hand side of their brain to do things.

“I know we have not developed that part of the brain toward this (entrepreneurial) revolution. The right-hand side of the brain is the one that identifies and sees opportunities.

“Research has shown that the left-hand side of the brain and the right-hand side work differently. The left-hand side is associated with analytical thinking, logic, maths, and language; but when it comes to critical and good thinking, it is more from the right. The right-hand side of the brain appreciates colour, rhythm, good music, dancing, imagination, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship.

“So if we really want to make it in this era, then it is about time we started to develop the right imaginative brain. We have the left-hand side of the brain, but when it comes to using our imaginative brain, I dare say that we are not there yet. “So if we can imagine a business like making a product out of waste, then we can say we will be part of this entrepreneurial revolution.”