What Is Entrepreneurship?

The word “Entrepreneurship” is derived from the French verb entreprendre which means “to undertake”.

It refers to the process of identifying viable business opportunities and mobilizing resources to convert those opportunities into a successful enterprise through creativity, innovation, risk taking and progressive imagination.

In depth…

Though the above definition is not universally agreed on, it reflects some of the key aspects of entrepreneurship: finding opportunities, creating business and bearing risk, and exposes some of the qualities of entrepreneur, which will be further explored in Question 3.

Among the features of an entrepreneurial activity, the following are usually mentioned:

• a set goal;
• an element of risk;
• personal commitment;
• planning and preparation;
• a commitment of numerous resources.

Though the words “entrepreneurship” or “business” are usually associated with commercial activities, entrepreneurial organizations can also be non-profit, or make profit “with purpose”, which is called “social entrepreneurship”. For example, entrepreneurial activities can aim at tackling social issues such as environmental concerns, unemployment, stresses on the health care system, managing deficits, technological advancements, and human rights concerns.