5 Key Lessons For Government To Grow Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

Global Entrepreneurship Research Network, Founding Executive Director  at Startup Istanbul Conference 2015.*

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It does no good to set up a fund with 700 million dollars seed stage fund for entrepreneurs or even have the Prime Minister come (to an event with entrepreneurs) when nine-tenths of government funding,nine-tenths of  policies are about supporting incumbent firms and making it difficult for entrepreneurs to compete.If market spaces are closed through nine-tenths of government policies to entrepreneurs, then one-tenth in fifty million dollar funds is just simply not going to change the game.

Listen to entrepreneurs

Before you do something to help entrepreneurs get to a room and talk to people who are entrepreneurs. Find out what their actual reality is. In every place,every part of the world every community, it’s gonna be different,sometimes radically different,sometimes slightly different.

Map the ecosystem

So then do something systemic after you’ve just listened to entrepreneurs. The government can sort of get some of the best research in this.

Learning from entrepreneurs

We can also learn from the entrepreneurs’ spirit of **think big, start small, move fast.

** Government can do the same thing it’s difficult but they can do it.

Avoid artificially segmenting your community or your strategies

Governments shouldn’t don’t do one thing for investors, one thing for entrepreneurs and think that they’re different people. As we all know they’re all the same people were all one community people change roles all the time. Government has a very hard time thinking that way because they think people have jobs and so if you’re an entrepreneur, you can’t be an investor,you can’t be mentor. It is ridiculous!