errant To close this gap, funds were provided by ILO Geneva in 1996, to develop a training package for TIVET Institutions; that included entrepreneurship education and business skills History of entrepreneurship in Kenya started as a pioneer project bome out of the collaboration among university of Ilinois, International Labour Organisation (ILO), UNDP and KTTC, in 1990. It was offered at Masters and PhD levels by the University of Illinois and KTTC provided the premises and conducive leaming environment. In 1992 the program was transferred to Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) while at KTTC started its first higher diploma class_in 1993. The first class was sponsored by ILO. Since 1995 students have been paying fees on their ‘own without sponsorship, Otherwise it was, and still is a popular course. satisfaction especially with those students who have been attached and apprenticed at their organisations MYTHS ASSOCIATED WITH ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN KENYA ‘The following are some of the myths associated with entrepreneurship: i) Entrepreneurs take wild risks at the start of their business. Even though risk is an integral part of business, the start of business is not considered the highest risk. An entrepreneur is more likely to face bigger risks at the latter stage of the business Entrepreneurs introduce break-through inventions in their start-up business. It ‘would be easy f6 assume that entrepreneurs introduce new inventions, usually technological inventions. This is not true. Innovation may be important, but what makes entrepreneurship successful is the ability to execute an ordinary idea exceptionally i) Most successful entrepreneurs have years of experienc their chosen line of business. Bill Gates was still a student when he started Microsoft with Paul Allen This story of several inexperienced entrepreneurs starting out a new business venture is replicated over and over again in the lives of millions of other successful entrepreneurs. iv) One needs a lot of money to start a business. This is not so, Money is not always an important prerequisite to be able to start a business. What sets the successful entrepreneur apart from the not-so-successfl is the ability to make do with what little knecnote ahe or she has. For instance, they look for other sources of money such as borrowing to grow their business. ¥) Start-ups use equity, not debt money. Entrepreneurs who put up equity coming from their own pocket only comprise less than 50% of the total start-ups. The majority of the companies are financed by debt THEORIES OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP These refer to the various approaches, which have been advanced to give an explanation, as to why entrepreneurs behave the way they do, They are also known as the perspectives of entrepreneurship The theories try to explain whether entrepreneurs are bom or made. The bom entrepreneurs inherit the entrepreneurial behaviour from their parents and grandparents while made entrepreneurs acquire entrepreneurial behaviour from the behaviour in which they live in The following are some of the entrepreneurial theories: Economic theory The theory holds that entrepreneurial behaviour is determined by economic factors. Thus entrepreneurs are greatly influenced by economic activities. From an economic point of, view an entrepreneur is a person who brings together the factors of production into a combination to make their value greater than before. According to Schumpeter, entrepreneurs are innovators who bring together the various resources to produce a new product/service through new ways/methods of production, finding new markets, finding new sources of materials to create a new business, ‘The economic theory provides basic data in the economic environment ~ activities for business start-ups, Thus entrepreneurial activities take place where conditions are supportive/conducive to investment, This theory revolves around an entrepreneur being an innovator, combining the various resources! factors of production to create new products/wealth knecnote eresPsychological theory The theory holds that entrepreneurs possess unique needs, values and attributes, which drive them into entrepreneurial behaviour, It holds that people have personal traits and attributes, mental desires to be independent The main proponent of this theory is McClelland who attributed entrepreneurial behaviour to the high need for achievement. Entrepreneurs are characterised by high need for achievement, which tends to give them high desire to take personal responsibility in risks. They have little interest in routine activities, which are not challenging. According to this theory, entrepreneurial behaviour is environmentally determined and is inherent during childhood, where parents have certain high standards achievement. Sociological theory The sociological theory maintains that environmental factors such as values and beliefs influence entrepreneurial behaviour, (Max Weber, 1904). Aecording too this theory, beliefs and societal aspects such as social status and recognition influence entrepreneurial behaviour. IMPORTANCE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORIES i) Entrepreneurship theories'bring greater understanding of entrepreneurship behaviour exhibited by different entrepreneurs ii) They enable one to understand the need for entrepreneurship and why some people are more entrepreneurial than others ili) The theories bring out various approaches and perceptions held by entrepreneurs. iv) Show that the desire for entrepreneurship is innate as well as environmentally determined, vv) Helps us to understand the role played by role models through networks that provide support ENTREPRENEURIAL ENVIRONMENT The environment within which the businesses operate has a great influence on the attractiveness of any opportunity. By business environment, we are referring not only to the physical environment, which is important and increasingly so, but also the political, knecnote aeconomic, geographical, legal and regulatory contexts, Political instability, for example, renders business opportunities unattractive in many countries, especially for ventures requiring high investment with a long payback period. Similarly, inflation and exchange rate fluctuations, or a week judiciary system, are not a good environment to start a business, even if the potential retums are high. The lack of infrastructure and services (such as roads, electricity, water supply, telecommunications, transportation, and even schools and hospitals) also affect the attractiveness of an opportunity in a given environment. Learning resources i) Textbooks ii) Newspaper cutting(s) iii) Resource persons iv) Role models Suggested learning Activities Discuss business environmental factors affecting entrepreneurship development. Group discussions on historical evolution of entrepreneurship in Kenya knecnote eres