Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Pakistan

By: Mahrukh Arif

MBA (Human Resource Management)
Thesis
Presented to the faculty of NUST Business School
National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad
in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements
for the Degree of
Master of Business Administration

May 2015

Acknowledgements

In The Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

This Master thesis is the concluding part for the Master of Business Administration degree in
Human Resource Management at NUST Business School. I would like to express my gratitude
to those who have helped me in the successful completion of this Master Thesis.

First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Ms. Sana Ahmed.
Without her constant encouragement and guidance this research would not have been possible. I
would also like to thank her for establishing my keen interest in entrepreneurship during the
course that inspired me to carry out this research.

I would like to thank my parents and family. They were always supporting me and encouraging
me with their best wishes.

Last but not the least, I would like to thank my friends, especially Anum Ghaffar and Rana Iradat
Sharif Khan for their support throughout the study that motivated me and helped me to complete
my thesis.

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is a key area that can enhance or worsen the countrys economy. With the
changing structure of markets and technology, mew types of entrepreneurships have emerged
among the ones that were already present.
The main aim of this research is to study the existing types of entrepreneurship on a scale of
various factors. Small business entrepreneurship, large business entrepreneurship and social
entrepreneurship is studied in terms of the finances available, the support, the technology, and
the market along with entrepreneurial vision, intention, talent and creativity and knowledge.
For analysis, secondary data is collected through various journals. Based on the analysis, the
opportunities present in Pakistan are observed.

KEY WORDS: Entrepreneurship, Small Business Entrepreneurship, Large Business

Entrepreneurship, Social Entrepreneurship

Contents
Introduction............................................................................................................................................. 5
Methodology ........................................................................................................................................... 6
Roadmap ................................................................................................................................................. 6
Literature Review .................................................................................................................................... 8
Entrepreneurship Explained ................................................................................................................. 8
Entrepreneurship Opportunities ........................................................................................................... 8
Entrepreneurship Opportunities in Pakistan .......................................................................................... 9
Hurdles for entrepreneurial ventures in Pakistan ................................................................................ 10
Large Business Entrepreneurship ....................................................................................................... 11
Small Business Entrepreneurship ....................................................................................................... 12
Social Entrepreneurship ..................................................................................................................... 13
Small Business Entrepreneurship ........................................................................................................... 14
Finances Available ............................................................................................................................ 14
Support for the Venture ..................................................................................................................... 15
Access to the intended market ............................................................................................................ 16
Education/Training ............................................................................................................................ 16
Technology ....................................................................................................................................... 17
Gender Biases.................................................................................................................................... 17
Entrepreneurial vision ........................................................................................................................ 18
Entrepreneurial Intention ................................................................................................................... 18
Entrepreneurial Talent and Creativity................................................................................................. 18
Entrepreneurial Knowledge ............................................................................................................... 18
Large Business Entrepreneurship ........................................................................................................... 19
Finances Available ............................................................................................................................ 20
Support for the Venture ..................................................................................................................... 20
Access to the Intended Market ........................................................................................................... 21
Education/Training ............................................................................................................................ 21
Technology ....................................................................................................................................... 22
Gender Biases.................................................................................................................................... 22
3

Entrepreneurial Vision ....................................................................................................................... 23

Entrepreneurial Intention ................................................................................................................... 23
Entrepreneurial Talent and Creativity................................................................................................. 23
Entrepreneurial Knowledge ............................................................................................................... 23
Social entrepreneurship ......................................................................................................................... 24
Finances available ............................................................................................................................. 25
Support for the venture ...................................................................................................................... 25
Access to the intended market ............................................................................................................ 26
Education/Training ............................................................................................................................ 26
Technology ....................................................................................................................................... 27
Gender Biases.................................................................................................................................... 27
Entrepreneurial vision ........................................................................................................................ 28
Entrepreneurial intention ................................................................................................................... 28
Entrepreneurial talent and creativity ................................................................................................... 28
Entrepreneurial Knowledge ............................................................................................................... 28
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 29
Recommendations ................................................................................................................................. 30
Bibliography ......................................................................................................................................... 31

Introduction
Entrepreneurship in itself is a vast field consisting of specific areas. Moreover this field is not
fully developed yet as newer concepts keeps arising in the area of entrepreneurship.
The process of entrepreneurship differs in many ways because different people would have
different ideas about providing goods and services and at what magnitude.
The magnitude and type of the business depends on a number of factors.
The finances available for the business would determine how much it will expand along with the
entrepreneurs intentions and vision about his business.
Furthermore, every venture requires support; an entrepreneur alone cannot begin and sustain a
venture if he is constantly met with resistance.
The kind of market the entrepreneur wants to venture in also determines the size and profitability
of the business in the short run as well as the long run.
Since the education and training regarding entrepreneurship is being provided in our colleges and
universities now, the number of entrepreneurial ventures is increasing. Those students who have
ideas about a business are going ahead with the idea now because they have been educated and
trained about how to run a business.
The emergence and implementation of technology has proved to facilitate businesses as it makes
the functioning of the processes smoother and in the long run it decreases the costs of running
the business.
Gender biases, however, are a main concern when it comes to beginning a business venture.
Females are discouraged from doing so while males are encouraged. That is why, many business
ideas do not take form and the potential contribution to the economy of the country is lost.
The health and sustainability, ultimately depends on the four intrinsic factors namely,
entrepreneurial vision, entrepreneurial intention, entrepreneurial talent and creativity and
entrepreneurial knowledge.

Methodology
The main source of research would be secondary. Three types of entrepreneurships would be
examined on the extrinsic and intrinsic factors that are listed.
The information collected through this mode would then be analyzed keeping in mind the
following roadmap.
In the end, conclusion and recommendations would be presented after analysis.

Roadmap
Type of Entrepreneurial Ventures to be covered under this:
1) Small Business Entrepreneurship
2) Large Business Entrepreneurship
3) Social Entrepreneurship
Factors giving rise to Opportunities in these areas:
EXTRINSIC FACTORS:
1) Finances available:
a) Personal
b) Commercial

2) Support for the venture:

a) Personal
b) Societal
c) Governmental (regulations and grants)

3) Access to the intended market:

a) Existing market
b) Create a market
6

4) Education/Training:
a) Provided by institutes
b) Provided by family (in case of family businesses)

5) Technology:
a) Creating new businesses
b) Facilitating existing businesses

6) Gender Biases:
a) For males
b) For females

INTRINSIC FACTORS:

1) Entrepreneurial Vision
2) Entrepreneurial Intention
3) Entrepreneurial Talent and Creativity
4) Entrepreneurial Knowledge

Literature Review
Entrepreneurship Explained
The economy of a country presents various opportunities for entrepreneurship. People take this
opportunity in order to reap benefits, mostly in the monetary terms. Putting it simply
entrepreneurship takes place when a person realizes that there is a buyer and seller in the market,
so he steps in to facilitate this transaction and ends up earning his own profit from it. It all
eventually depends on the individual realizing the opportunity that may arise in the market and
benefitting from it in the best way possible. This is important because if the opportunity is just
realized but not utilized as it should be, then the act of entrepreneurship may fail too quickly.
The whole process of entrepreneurship does not only benefit the buyer, seller and the
entrepreneur, but it also has a favorable impact on the economy of the country. An economy
benefits largely from the businesses that are set up in it, so creating and realizing
entrepreneurship opportunities is important for the advancement of any economy.
(Holcombe, 2003)

Entrepreneurship Opportunities
Recognizing the opportunity that may arise depends on the type of information that is present in
the market. How someone deciphers it and uses it to their advantage would define their
entrepreneurial process. The individual looking for such an opportunity should have right
information about the market, should have some knowledge himself and be aware of the optimal
time and place for cashing on this opportunity. An example of this can be found in our very own
McDonalds, Ray Kroc realized the potential of the restaurant and bought it from its original
owner and turned it into a global brand. McDonalds initial success was a known fact but Ray
Kroc was the one to decipher its actual potential and use it to his own advantage, in turn
benefitting the buyer, the seller and the economy as a whole.
(Holcombe, 2003)

Entrepreneurship Opportunities in Pakistan

Entrepreneurs build up their venture on a creative idea and run it on their innovation. The
creative idea may stem from an opportunity that would arise in the market. Sometimes the idea
creates the market e.g. Apple created a market for its innovative products and the rest of the
players in the industry followed. Creating a market also entails first mover advantage for the
entrepreneur. In order to keep the venture up and running, the entrepreneur has to keep a look out
for risky conditions. So an entrepreneur has to do both, build an innovative idea and deal with
the risk in the market.
(Haque, 2007)
The norm is that businesses start small and usually use their own funding for the venture. This is
true because banks do not easily provide funding to new businesses; they need to invest their
money in already successful ventures so that they do not lose their money. There does exist a
venture capital industry but it is not rooted well enough, financially or legally, to aid new
entrepreneurial ventures. Pakistan has a poor structure in this regard and so facilitating the
development of entrepreneurship becomes a problem.
(Haque, 2007)
This weak structure is manipulated by businessmen and they use it instead for wealth
accumulation through corruption. Also those businesses prospered more who were favored by
the government and were provided support and funds from them. This eventually resulted in
government favorites accumulating the most wealth. This is true in both the public and the
private sector. Government favor is given to few and this has stood in the way of the
development of entrepreneurship as a whole in Pakistan. It can be said that there is not a very
encouraging environment for entrepreneurship in Pakistan.
(Haque, 2007)

Hurdles for entrepreneurial ventures in Pakistan

1) Elite Bias: The policies introduced by the government, including the economic policy are
largely biased towards the elite of the country as they run the larger part of the sector.
2) Neglecting small businesses: Banks and governments alike do not facilitate the start-up or
the running of small businesses.
3) Bias towards the Primary Sector: To begin with Pakistan is an agro-based economy, the
shift to secondary and tertiary sector is not accepted or supported still.
4) Bank defaults: The bank structure as a whole is weak, so financial assistance to upcoming
ventures is not a very common trend.
(Haque, 2007)
Among these there are a number of other factors hindering the development of entrepreneurship
in Pakistan. Around 23% of the youth wants to start their own venture, some due to lack of jobs
and some due to their own personal interests; they are unable to do so because of absence of
proper laws in the area, consistent corruption, and weak financial and educational structure.
Those who have the finances do not have the skills, those who have the skills do not have the
finances, and most do not have both.
(Munir, 2012)
Pakistan Economic Survey of 2009-10 shows that there is a severe energy crisis in the country.
So even if the finances and skills are available as mentioned above, the lack of basic facilities
like electricity and petrol hinder the running of businesses.
(Munir, 2012)

10

It cannot be argued that the benefits of entrepreneurship are several:

1) A sound source of income for the individual
2) Creates employment opportunities
3) Creation of products and services
4) Contributes to the economy
(Munir, 2012)

Large Business Entrepreneurship

The concept of traditional entrepreneurship is rapidly changing and giving way to large business
entrepreneurship. Individuals aspiring to be entrepreneurs may start big from the beginning or
start small first and then build up to a larger venture. Building towards a large venture requires
creativity and innovation on the entrepreneurs end. Not just that, he should be risk-taking and
exude a sense of proactive-ness in order to mold the business according to changes in the market,
economy, etc. As he is able to undertake the right organizational process, he is able to expand his
business.
(Morris & Trotter, 1990)
Achieving corporate entrepreneurship is not that easy. Clear steps for it cannot be identified
either. Generating new products and services is a work of innovation, but what really counts is
being proactive. Most entrepreneurs while staying reactive neglect the proactive perspective to
everything and may fail in the long run. Once a venture begins, the innovation and proactiveness would fade away eventually, the entrepreneurial spirit may be lost and true entrepreneurship
would be lost on the way.
(Morris & Trotter, 1990)

11

Small Business Entrepreneurship

Start-up businesses would either bring in a new idea or cash upon an already existing idea in the
market. Mostly small businesses intend to venture into an existing market with an existing
customer base. These businesses like to stay small and are not very innovative when it comes to
expansion. Examples of such businesses would include restaurants, real estate agents,
shopkeepers, doctors, lawyers etc. Individuals running these businesses like the idea of having to
work for no one, flexible hours etc.
(Hurst & Pugsley, 2011)
Small business owners have to stay determined at all times in order to keep their venture
successful. Being small does not mean that they do not help the economy. They definitely have a
hand in creating jobs and providing products and services that people need. These businesses
have the potential to fuel local and national growth.
(Schaffer, 2006)

12

Social Entrepreneurship
These businesses strive for social and environmental prosperity. Their focus is different as
compared to the types of entrepreneurship discussed above.
Social entrepreneurs aim towards providing betterment for the community and work towards
improving the society. The basic principles of entrepreneurship is the same for them, they
innovate, they bring something new to the market or build a business on an already existing
market, they take risks and they have to be proactive but their end purpose is different. Instead of
earning profits, their achievement is improving the society.
(Quadri & Ayesha, 2013)
The first two types of entrepreneurship are well-rehearsed and well-developed. Social
entrepreneurship is still an emerging idea, especially in developing countries like Pakistan where
already the support system for entrepreneurs is weak. Social entrepreneurs need to stay creative
in order to implement favorable changes, one after another, in the society.
(Quadri & Ayesha, 2013)
These ventures attract a different kind of investment; those looking to support their idea invest in
these businesses e.g. angel investors. However, this is not enough, government support and
facilities are still required for maximum impact. Social enterprises are not only able to improve
the society for now, but even for the future generations. This form of entrepreneurship should
definitely be encourage and is needed in Pakistan.
(Quadri & Ayesha, 2013)

13

Small Business Entrepreneurship

As the name suggests a small business has a small number of resources committed to it. For
example, it has less employees and a smaller business range, hence profits are small too. These
types of businesses are privately owned. At most they can be run by sole proprietorship or
partnerships etc.
These businesses seek to fulfill needs at a smaller scale and are not so eager to expand. Most
small businesses prefer to stay small.
(Payton, 2011)

Finances Available
Before starting a business, the entrepreneur should be well aware of where to bring his start-up
capital from.
The entrepreneur should focus on:
- Set-up costs
- Costs to bring in resources (raw materials, employees etc.)
- Costs for increasing capacity
There are various sources from where he can get these.
Internal Sources
Personal sources: These are the personal savings of the entrepreneur. It also includes finances
provided by friends and family. In a small business venture, this is the most common type of
source for financing.
Retained profits: Once the business starts making profits, those profits can be reinvested for
further operations of the business.

14

External Sources
Bank loans: When the above sources are not enough, then the entrepreneur may turn to bank
loans. The advantage of this type of financing is that large amounts can be borrowed at once for
the starting up of the business. However, banks especially in Pakistan prefer to provide loans for
large businesses rather than small business.
Business angels: These are professional investors who look for potential businesses and invest
in them if they have good growth prospects.
(Riley, 2012)

Support for the Venture

Personal support comes from family members and close friend circle. Usually small business
ventures tap into the local market and not much far beyond that. Because their scope is small and
not very risky, they get due support from family and friends.
Societal support is provided by the society i.e. the locality in this case. Small businesses are
more up close and personal e.g. the local department store would be preferred over the
commercial supermarket. So support provided by the society in case of small businesses is
ample.
Governmental support is less in this case, unfortunately. The government and banks provide
finances to larger corporations where their investment would be fruitful, small businesses are not
considered to be earning large profits so there are no sound policies present to support them.

15

Access to the intended market

Existing Market: if the market where the entrepreneur intends to venture into already exists then
it would be easy for him to start the business venture. Already, the market would be tapped into
and ample information would be present for the entrepreneur to build the business on. This
situation is actually ideal for small businesses where the market already exists.
Create a Market: if the entrepreneur intends to create a market from scratch, it would be
difficult for him to start the business. Everything would have to be done from the beginning, the
market research, realizing the target market, promoting the new product and its features etc. This
would be a difficult job for a small business, and should only be done by large corporations e.g.
Apple created a new market from scratch.

Education/Training
Provided by institutes: As opposed to previous trends, entrepreneurship courses are
increasingly being added in the curriculums of universities. This is giving a rise to a force of
upcoming entrepreneurs. Those who aspire to become entrepreneurs get a direction from these
courses. Especially, the trend of small business entrepreneurship is on the rise.
Provided by family (in case of family businesses): Usually these businesses are small or
medium in size. The owners of these businesses train their children in such a way that they
would be able to take over the business in the future. So these upcoming entrepreneurs get due
training from their families.

16

Technology
Creating new businesses: Bringing in new technology or technology related products to create
new ventures requires heavy investment and cannot be achieved by a small business
entrepreneur.
Facilitating existing businesses: However, if these entrepreneurs are smart, they would see the
economical side of implementing technology to expedite their business processes and lower costs
of their businesses in the long run.

Gender Biases
For males: Our society is such that having male entrepreneurs is a common trend. Males are
preferred to begin a venture or take over their family businesses.
For females: Female entrepreneurs are a rare sight. Women are not empowered enough to go out
of their way to start a business venture. They have to face many challenges if they go towards the
entrepreneurship side and even if they are able to achieve what they aspire for, their business
cannot run for long because being a woman in itself would cause unprecedented hurdles in this
field.

17

Entrepreneurial vision
Entrepreneurial vision stems from the idea an entrepreneur wants to pursue. His passion to
follow through that idea and creates a vision, a long term standing that he has for his business in
mind. Whatever the size of the business, it is important that the one who created the venture,
holds a long term vision for it. This way, the business would prosper and stand the test of time.

Entrepreneurial Intention
Having an idea is common, but brining that idea to life depends on the intention of the
entrepreneur. Many potential entrepreneurs do not have the resources or the proper will to pursue
their idea, but those who do, are successful in creating what is in their mind. Again, the size of
the business is not of concern here, having an entrepreneurial intention, whether one is starting
the business or taking over it, is the key to make the business prosper.

Entrepreneurial Talent and Creativity

An entrepreneur has to play a lot of roles at once. He is a leader, a manager and the one who
takes everyone on board to take them forward. He should be able to bring together the various
resources required to start up the business and keep it running the future. The entrepreneurs
creativity is evident when he has the idea of the product, makes it happen and solves the hurdles
that he has to face.

Entrepreneurial Knowledge
The entrepreneur should be well aware at all times of his business and the market that he is
operating in. In a small business venture, doing this is the easiest and hence maintenance of a
small venture is not very difficult. Also small businesses operate in a safer environment, usually
a market that has already been tapped into and been researched upon, so gaining knowledge of
the conditions and then applying the entrepreneurial knowledge while running the business
becomes easy.

18

Large Business Entrepreneurship

Large businesses are usually associated with new ideas and opportunities since these are the
ingredients that would help them get well established and expand. New ideas at the foundation of
a business help it to counter competitors as it is bringing something new into the market. It may
give them a competitive edge as well which in turn is essential for the business to keep growing.
Since a large business is a high-risk venture, the entrepreneur has to take calculated risks with
the new ideas that he is presenting into the market. Even if the ideas are not entirely new then
they need to be tweaked in a manner that they are able to counter the competition that already
exists or may arise in the future. Until the entrepreneur is perfectly clear about what direction to
take his business in, he should not risk it.
The primary source of the functioning of the business is the concept that the entrepreneur brings
with him along with constant strategy renewal. The entrepreneur has to stay vigilant and
proactive at all times so that all his hard work pays off.
The profits reaped from a large business venture are quite fruitful, but if the venture fails then the
losses are great too and most of the time leads the entrepreneur to bankruptcy.
(May, 2014)

19

Finances Available
Personal: In the case of starting big initially, personal savings can be used by an individual in
addition to finances provided by friends and family but it would not be enough as was in the case
of a small business venture. To start and keep a large business venture going. An entrepreneur
would need a large start-up capital followed by large bank loans.
Commercial: Mostly commercial means of financing would be used in a large business venture.
Long term bank loans would be taken to start the business and keep it going. The start-up capital
for the venture is large but in the future the profits are large too.

Support for the Venture

Personal: Starting a large business is a much riskier venture than a small business. If the
business does not reap profits then the losses are too great. So there would be hesitant personal
support for the entrepreneur and in some cases strong resistance against the venture might occur.
Societal: Our society is categorically a risk-averse society. Just as personal support for the
entrepreneur would be hard to come by, societal support would be rare too. If the business does
not directly impact the society in a favorable way then they would not be too supportive for the
venture.
Governmental: In contrast to the above two factors, governmental support for a large business
would be greater. The government would be willing to provide grants to larger ventures because
they contribute more in the economy and have a greater chance of reaping heavier profits. So
governmental support for large business entrepreneur is greater than personal and societal
support.

20

Access to the Intended Market

Existing market: A large business is quite risky so if it ventures into an existing market then it
has to have proper market research done before hand because mistakes would be quite costly.
Moreover competition from small businesses as well as large businesses has to be dealt with
because loss of sales in any form could make the business lose precious profits.
Create a market: This is an ideal option for any business especially for the entrepreneur who
aspires to create a large business. An innovative idea can be cashed upon and a new market can
be made. This is a good option because then the entrepreneur would have little or no competition
to deal with and all focus can be on the expansion of the business.

Education/Training
Provided by institutes: Entrepreneurship courses are being introduced into the curriculum of
various institutes, the basics and concepts of entrepreneurship are taught to prepare the student
force for their future in case they are not able to find jobs. Students of today are well equipped in
this regard. However, whether the venture stays small or starts as a large business is up to the
entrepreneur.

Provided by family: In case of large businesses run by families, the next generation is equipped
with the knowledge of the business so that they are able to carry it forward. In addition to this if
these young entrepreneurs are provided with entrepreneurship education as well then they can
improve their businesses a great deal.

21

Technology
Creating new businesses: A large business can be created using technology e.g. innovative
technology like that used in Apple products has redefined the whole industry. In Pakistan,
Qmobile can be categorized as such a business because it provides a large number of features at
affordable prices.
Facilitating existing businesses: It does not mean that technology can be used to make a
business, but it can be used to facilitate business processes. Especially if the entrepreneur aspires
to have a large business then technology has to be embedded in it to facilitate business processes
because in the long run it decreases costs of running the business and greatly inflates profits.

Gender Biases
For males: When thinking of a large business venture, it is assumed that the entrepreneur of
such a venture would be a male. This bias remains in our society and in many others that large
businesses can only be started and run by males as females are either incapable of doing this or it
is out of their domain of expertise.
For females: As mentioned above females are hardly ever seen as entrepreneurs let alone large
business entrepreneurs. Even if some try to achieve large business entrepreneurship then they are
met with such strong resistant from family, friends and society that they cannot follow up their
plans to be an entrepreneur. There is little or no support for female entrepreneurs.

22

Entrepreneurial Vision
The Vision that an entrepreneur holds for his business defines where the business would be
headed towards. While running a large business or while beginning one, the entrepreneur should
have an expansion-oriented approach. Since the aim is to be the entrepreneur of a large business,
the perspective should be such that it leads the business to the greatness that has been envisioned
for it.

Entrepreneurial Intention
Achieving the milestone of a large business depends heavily on what the entrepreneur intends to
do. The entrepreneur may want to provide a product or a service and expand in the market. All of
it is based on what product he aims to deliver and how far in the market he is willing to expand.
If the idea is innovative enough to stand through time and there is enough opportunity present in
the market then a large business can prosper.

Entrepreneurial Talent and Creativity

In the case of a large business venture, entrepreneur talent and creativity goes a long way. The
aspiration is to grow the business, an expansion strategy is followed and for that the product or
service provided by the business must be subjected to constant innovation so that sales keep
growing. The entrepreneurs talent and creativity is truly tested when the challenge of expanding
the business is presented to the entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurial Knowledge
The knowledge of an entrepreneur involves a number of areas, ranging from resources for the
venture, market knowledge, knowledge about the product and consumer behaviors etc. The
entrepreneur has to have various sources of information and knowledge about all that are directly
or indirectly involved with the business venture in order to expand and grow the business
according to the entrepreneurial vision.

23

Social entrepreneurship
Social entrepreneurship is an upcoming form of entrepreneurship and is attracting more people
since it is dedicated towards the good of the society. However there is much uncertainty present
about what a social entrepreneur does, how does he run his business and how does he take it in
the long run. But on a basic level, any good step being taken in a society is termed as social
entrepreneurship. A specific definition for this form of entrepreneurship has still not surfaced as
of yet.
It is mostly categorized by bringing about social change that has a lasting effect on the society
and benefits the society in the long run.
Those promoting and financing social activities do so for the societal benefits or for the sake of
CSR but the ROI is unclear in this venture. But still a lot of people want to engage into it for the
good of society rather than only for their personal benefits.
The lack of clarity that is persistent while explaining social entrepreneurship might even benefit
the venture. Beneficial activities categorized as social entrepreneurship attract attention, funding
and support from those who want to indulge in these activities and in turn societal good is
achieved.
So having a vague definition does not really matter as long as the purpose of the activity is being
achieved, i.e. social benefits.
(Martin & Osberg, 2007)

24

Finances available
Personal: Social Entrepreneurship entails a form of business that focuses more on the societal
benefits than personal benefits. Most of the finances available for starting such a venture would
be personal savings and finances provided by friends and family. This is also easier to do
because it is rare that a social entrepreneurship venture would become a large business. So
starting it off as a small venture using personal sources of finances is more common in this case.
Commercial: The nature of the business is such that bank loans would not be provided easily.
Banks prefer to provide finances to businesses that would reap profits in the long run and would
be able to pay back the loan. Government funds would not be easily available to these businesses
too because profitable businesses are the ones that contribute directly to the economy. Social
entrepreneurship businesses are considered not to be a direct contributor to the economy. So
commercial sources of finances for these ventures are hard to come by.

Support for the venture

Personal: Support provided for the venture by the family and friends of the entrepreneur would
be moderate. Since starting a social venture requires investment but little or no return on
investment, people would be hesitant to start or support someone who wants to start this venture.
Societal: The society would provide support for a social business because it benefits them
directly. There are more chances that the entrepreneur would get monetary and non-monetary
support from the society as compared to other sources of support.
Governmental: Government support regarding funds would not be that great because these
businesses do not reap profits or contribute directly to the economy.
The non-financial support would be there because social entrepreneurship is hard to come by.

25

Access to the intended market

Existing market: The market for social business ventures exists but few entrepreneurs are well
known. So a new social entrepreneur can either tap into the existing market or improve the
services that are already being provided or target a market that still has not received that service.
Create a market: Social entrepreneur can provide a service that has not been provided before.
This way they can create a market for their business and serve the target market that has not been
served before. In the case of social entrepreneurship, this is a better option because then the
entrepreneurs get to provide services to those who had previously been deprived of them.

Education/Training
Provided by institutes: Institutes have begun to give their students a sound understanding of
entrepreneurship as a whole. However, even during this, students are told on how to reap profits
from their businesses. The ultimate goal of every business is to earn profits. Examples of social
entrepreneurships are less and they are not widely taught as well because they are not considered
to be a means to earn a living. So the entrepreneurship courses do not emphasis much on these,
instead they emphasize on how an entrepreneur should make their businesses profitable.
Provided by family (in case of family businesses): Most of the family businesses are for-profit
businesses. Families set up businesses and train their next generation to take care of the business,
expand it and make it more profitable. Hardly any family businesses are focused towards social
services. However, some profitable businesses devote their time and money to social causes but
they cannot be termed as social entrepreneurs.

26

Technology
Creating new businesses: Creating new businesses based on technology is possible in the case
of large business entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurship, since is focused on providing social
services cannot be based on technology. However it can be facilitated with the use of technology.
Facilitating existing businesses: Technology can be used to facilitate existing social businesses
e.g. they can have websites describing their mission, vision and goals. This way people would
get to know more about the business. Other business processes can be automated as well to
facilitate the functioning of the business.

Gender Biases
For males: As discussed before, any kind of entrepreneurship is considered to be male-oriented.
So any social venture in our society is also thought to be better executed if started by males
rather than females.
For females: Female entrepreneurs are not widely heard of. So in the case of social
entrepreneurship, which in itself is a rare type of entrepreneurship, even rarer is the fact that a
female would start a social business venture.

27

Entrepreneurial vision
The entrepreneur has to have a vision that is not profit-centric for this venture. At the same time
the vision should be long term. The entrepreneur should see how his/her business would progress
in the future especially if it is of this type and has less support as compared to the other two types
of entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurial intention
The entrepreneurs intention in this type of venture is not about monetary gains. The
entrepreneur aspires to serve the society by providing social services and bringing about a
betterment in the society. Unlike the other two types of entrepreneurship where the intention is to
earn more profits and expand.

Entrepreneurial talent and creativity

The entrepreneur has to have creative thinking in the sense that he should be able to keep his/her
business going. Idea execution depends on the talent and creativity of the entrepreneur. Social
entrepreneurship requires dedication and commitment that should come from the entrepreneur so
that the venture can be a success and stay a success in the long run.

Entrepreneurial Knowledge
The entrepreneur has to be very vigilant when venturing into this business. Social
entrepreneurship is still an upcoming field especially in our society, so one has to have perfect
knowledge before venturing into the market for maximum success. It is a risky business and
needs a lot of commitment especially if there is less monetary return, hence entrepreneurial
knowledge in this regard can prove to be a huge asset.

28

Conclusion
There are various types of entrepreneurships but these are most generally found. Going into the
technicalities of entrepreneurship would open new branches to the field but as of now it is kept
quite general.
Small business entrepreneurship, on a general note, has more personal finances available, high
personal and societal support whereas governmental support is less. It is more feasible if it
ventures into an existing market rather than creating a new market. Technology can be used to
facilitate this business type.
The entrepreneurial vision in this case should be long term, whether he wants to keep the
business small or expand it in the future. The entrepreneurial intention is gauged by what
products or services the entrepreneur wants to provide through his venture.
Entrepreneurial talent and creativity is required in every venture, be it small or large. Creative
business ideas are able to sustain the venture for a long time. Entrepreneurial knowledge, having
knowledge about the type of business the entrepreneur is venturing in and how to sustain it is
very important.
Large business entrepreneurship has more commercial finances available for it and governmental
support is high. Venturing into a new market is more feasible because it gives the business an
easy opportunity to grow. Technology can be used as the basis for conducting this business; it
would cause the costs to fall in the long run and profits to inflate.
The entrepreneurial vision would be such that it would sustain the large business in the long run.
The entrepreneurial intention is to expand the business and keep increasing profits.
Entrepreneurial talent and creativity should be such that a large business is able to form on it.
Entrepreneurial knowledge in this case is important because heavy investments and long term
profits are at stake. So the entrepreneur should be aware of the market at all times and the
business should function accordingly.
Social entrepreneurship has more personal finances available as compared to commercial
finances. They have lower governmental support. Creating a new market i.e. providing a social
29

service that is not already being provided is more feasible in this case. Technology can be used to
facilitate business processes.
Entrepreneurial vision and intention should be focused on providing social good keeping in mind
that monetary returns would be less in this case. Entrepreneurial talent and creativity should be
tweaked according to social businesses. Entrepreneurial knowledge is important in this case as
the entrepreneur should be aware of the kind of social services already being provided and what
does he need to provide in order to make a difference in the society.
Preference for male entrepreneurs is prevalent in all types of entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurial education is provided at universities to prepare potential entrepreneurs.
Generally, the intrinsic factors, namely entrepreneurial vision, entrepreneurial intention,
entrepreneurial talent and creativity and entrepreneurial knowledge are important in all types of
entrepreneurship, they just need to be tweaked according to the business venture that the
entrepreneur aspires to begin and grow.

Recommendations
Support for all types of entrepreneurship should be present as all of them contribute to the
economy one way or another.
Government should provide more grants for small businesses and social businesses so that even
small profits that are made benefit the economy and social good can be done in the society.
The society in general should be more supportive towards female entrepreneurs because a lot of
entrepreneurial opportunities are lost due to gender biases in the society.
Businesses according to their nature should enter the market and embed technology where
possible and feasible.
Entrepreneurship courses should become a permanent part of the curriculum at universities so
that students are always prepared to make a living.

30

Bibliography
Haque, N. U. (2007). Entrepreneurship in Pakistan. PIDE Working Papers.
Holcombe, R. G. (2003). The Origins of Entrepreneurial Opportunities. The Review of Austrian
Economics, 25-43.
Hurst, E., & Pugsley, B. W. (2011). What Do Small Businesses Do?
Martin, R. L., & Osberg, S. (2007). Social Entrepreneurship: The Case for Definition. Retrieved
March 18, 2015, from Stanford Social Innovation Review:
http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/social_entrepreneurship_the_case_for_definition
May, R. (2014). Corporate Entrepreneurship and its Importance in Large Companies. Retrieved
March 18, 2015, from BusinessDictionary.com:
http://www.businessdictionary.com/article/726/corporate-entrepreneurship-and-itsimportance-in-large-companies/
Morris, M. H., & Trotter, J. D. (1990). Institutionalizing Entrepreneurship in a Large Company:
A Case Study at AT&T. Industrial Marketing Management, 131-139.
Munir, N. (2012, April 16). Entrepreneurship opportunity: Combining two bads to make one
good. Retrieved March 14, 2015, from The Express Tribune:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/365205/entrepreneurship-opportunity-combining-two-badsto-make-one-good/
Payton, S. (2011, March 21). Small Business, Entrepreneur, Startup: Which Do You Identify
With? Retrieved March 18, 2015, from Small Business Trends:
http://smallbiztrends.com/2011/03/small-business-entrepreneur-startup.html
Quadri, F., & Ayesha, S. (2013). Exploring Untapped Potential. Opportunity Pakistan.
Riley, J. (2012, September 23). Sources of finance for startups and SMEs. Retrieved March 18,
2015, from tutor2u: http://www.tutor2u.net/business/finance/finance_sources_smes.htm
Schaffer, J. (2006). Entrepreneurship and Small Business. eJournal USA.

31