Mapping the Challenges of the World

Before we map the challenges of the world, it is important to keep in mind what A.P.J. Abdul Kalam says in his most recent book ‘Target 3 Billion’ - “Focus on being a job generator rather than merely a job seeker. There is no better opportunity to give wings to your entrepreneurial spirit than in the untapped rural regions of the nation and the world.”
 
Yet to the eyes of a budding entrepreneur, there couldn’t be a more dismal scene than the constant reports of market crashes of the once economic giants of the West. They are slowly waning superpowers who achieved a great deal over the last century and whom the developing countries such as ours have been trying to emulate. They had their theories, formulae, guidelines and methods on how economic progress could be achieved, and they were often right. But not any longer. Methods that worked in the yesteryears cannot address the challenges of the present, and they most certainly will fail in the future. The time has come for changes by looking for newer opportunities, and where best to find them but in the toughest challenges.
 
India has over 600,000 villages most of which have been waiting of the fringes for real development. Our nations’s many cities and metros are crying for infrastructure and are slowly splitting at the seams. In both these stories, if there is one common theme then it is the need for a more inclusive and sustainable development. To make India a country where every individual is empowered, can fulfil his or her needs, and has access to amenities that will help participate in the economic progress and development of India. But India’s poorest live in its villages and amount to over 750 million. Most of them are facing a plethora of challenges including access to basic amenities, illiteracy, unemployment and most importantly crushing poverty. Does that sound like empowerment?
 
The entrepreneur of the future is one who is well aware of these issues. It is because he has taken the effort to really understand the lives of those who are made ineffectual because of one issue or the other. The entrepreneur understands and knows their requirements and needs. He has found his market. But he is also knows that creating value cannot be measured by numbers or chinks in the treasury alone.  The days of unbridled capitalism and greed is long gone. The entrepreneur of the future knows real value can be created only and if only it can be made sustainable and is inclusive.
 
On a parting note, innovations and ideas are no longer geographically confined. If a certain solution works in one market then it could very well be customised for another market. Really, for the sensitised entrepreneur of tomorrow the world is there for the taking. You just need to map the challenges of your world and sniff out the opportunities.