College or no College? That is the Question: Higher Learning for African Entrepreneurs

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s someone who comes from a mainly informal background, my tendency is to prefer a more laid back and unstructured approach to things. The academic rigors, life, and protocols which I somewhat loathed actually helped instill tolerance in me and perhaps an understanding of the importance of structure and structured environments.Organisation of your thoughts: As with the first point I made, the academic experience also helped me learn to organize my thoughts and ideas better. Previous to attaining my degree my experience with scientific research methods was sparse and almost forgotten from the many years I was last sat in a classroom. However, since I work in technology, it is nonetheless still crucial to practice. I can tangibly see the improvement in organisation of my thoughts not only based on the assignments I was graded on back then but also in the comprehension and structure of articles and other literary works of my own.Being taken seriously: Fairly recently I was accepted into another academic programme. The minimum requirement which was a master’s degree was a criterion I did not meet. For some reason or other, those vetting my application waivered that prerequisite and based my application on the other considerations. I suppose the diplomas would have still been allowed but I feel quite certain the bachelor’s degree helped towards a positive end. One of my mentors who is highly educated and runs an educational service once told me several years ago that there are just some doors that will not open without a bachelors/post-graduate education. I came to agree with him. It is a fact of life, whether we like it or not.To know stuff: For this reason, I feel my goals demand I take some sort of business management course (preferably an MBA). What I know is good for right now but not where I plan to take my business. If not, I’ll have to one day hire people who have what I don’t. Either way the venture will get the expertise needed.Improved Standards: the idea is that the education should add value to what you already do. In my case, I think that was a genuine realized advantage.What should an entrepreneur learn?Several entrepreneurs online told of two elements that motivated them to go back to school after failed ventures. Several reasons stuck out to me. They had identified the managerial skills gaps in themselves that they felt they needed to learn. Additionally, they determined that further education would give them global exposure and allow them to learn how to scale and strategise[ <a href="http://#sdendnote1sym">i]</a>.So, the question may be: do you really need it?Perhaps the right answer depends on what you are trying to do or planning to do later. Secondly, in this age of technology, education does not have to be as formally structured as bygone eras. However, as any entrepreneur would know, whether you get

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yourself a degree or not, the bottom line is you need to learn a bunch of new things. It is an investment.A third consideration is that of the fact that if you are trying to raise funding from professional and or savvy investors, one of the qualities that will sway the typical investor’s favour towards investing in your venture is whether or not you offer quality management and have previous experience to back it[ <a href="http://#sdendnote2sym">ii</a>].As a female entrepreneur myself, I am drawn to the comments made in one Forbes article in regards to the predictability of success for female entrepreneurs in regards to going back to school for business success or furtherance of one’s career. Apart from other considerations you need to make, including the obvious financial implications and the importance of carefully picking the right programme for your needs, the source recommends you consider your long term goals as well. Worth noting from that source is that in some fields, an MBA or other qualification may be a requirement [ <a href="http://#sdendnote3sym">iii]</a>.These are my thoughts? What are yours?Want to discover more about Maclean Mbepula? Find her on Linkedin or here on Medium. She’s <a href="https://www.amazon.com/author/macleanmbepula">written 3 books (one in entrepreneurship from a grassroots perspective (“Challenge Accepted) and 2 poetry books which are available for purchase on Amazon</a> or you can <a href="https://www.creativeafrica.space/">sign up and get the kindle versions 100% FREE</a>Sources<a href="http://#sdendnote1anc">i</a> Bhattcharyya, Rica. 2017. Economic Times: “MBA: Failed entrepreneurs go back to school” . <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/education/failed-entrepreneurs-go-back-to-school/articleshow/59326497.cms">https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/education/failed-entrepreneurs-go-back-to-school/articleshow/59326497.cms</a> . Accessed on 25th January 2019.<a href="http://#sdendnote2anc">ii</a> Kaplan,Steven N, Strömberg, Per. 2000. “How Do Venture Capitalists Choose Investments?”. Graduate School of Business, The University of Chicago, 1101 East 58th Street, Chicago, IL 60637.<a href="http://#sdendnote3anc">iii</a> Goldston, NJ. 2018. Forbes: “Should You Go Back For Your MBA To Further Your Career Or To Be A Better Entrepreneur?”. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/njgoldston/2018/04/11/should-you-go-back-for-your-mba-to-further-your-career-or-to-be-a-better-entrepreneur/#2131b23722b5">https://www.forbes.com/sites/njgoldston/2018/04/11/should-you-go-back-for-your-mba-to-further-your-career-or-to-be-a-better-entrepreneur/#2131b23722b5</a> . Accessed on 25 January 2019.Originally published at <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/college-question-higher-learning-african-maclean-mbepula/">https://www.linkedin.com</a>.</article></body>

College or no College? That is the Question: Higher Learning for African Entrepreneurs

It is my observation that for many entrepreneurs coming from informal backgrounds, amidst all the tasks we need to do, many of us do not think about attaining higher education. Perhaps it is because of our motives. Unlike someone geared for employment by others with the “get the paper mindset and get someone to employ me” that some may have, the average entrepreneur entertaining the possibilities of getting a professional qualification of some sort is likely to attain it for the purpose of directly impacting his or her organisation in some tangible way. The most likely goal would be to ensure business success.

Some people fit right into academia. I for one, do not. I don’t like the routine, protocols required or hierarchical structures. I find the bureaucratic processes tedious and annoying, to say the least. However, some years back, I found myself conflicted. I had a diploma from the National College of Information Communication Technology and another from some distant/online learning college I registered for when I lived in England. However, they did not equate to a first degree. This nagged me even though I felt that the quality of “person” that I was would not be made or broken by some academic qualification. That was my belief. I even remember a middle-aged friend of mine who told me that I would notice the difference that my tertiary education would make on me when I was done. I actually disagreed with them vehemently back then.

I attained my bachelor’s degree in Education Science (ICT) in 2016 at Malawi Assemblies of God University, in Lilongwe and to be very honest: that friend of mine was right. The main benefit is that when people question you, they have a basis for verifying or nullifying your standpoint. Some people just tend to think that your “voice” is legitimized by having attained that academic qualification or other. That may or may not be accurate but what I learned my tertiary education did for me was:

Learned Critical Thinking: As a core module, we were taught critical thinking principles. This is something that certainly helped frame my thought life going forward so as to help me make better decisions, not just academically but overall in my life and business. As someone that is prone to make passion or gut-based decision, acquiring these tools in analytical thinking (though somewhat elementary) genuinely impacted how I approach new ideas, challenges and discussions.

An Appreciation for Structure/ Structured environments: Again, as someone who comes from a mainly informal background, my tendency is to prefer a more laid back and unstructured approach to things. The academic rigors, life, and protocols which I somewhat loathed actually helped instill tolerance in me and perhaps an understanding of the importance of structure and structured environments.

Organisation of your thoughts: As with the first point I made, the academic experience also helped me learn to organize my thoughts and ideas better. Previous to attaining my degree my experience with scientific research methods was sparse and almost forgotten from the many years I was last sat in a classroom. However, since I work in technology, it is nonetheless still crucial to practice. I can tangibly see the improvement in organisation of my thoughts not only based on the assignments I was graded on back then but also in the comprehension and structure of articles and other literary works of my own.

Being taken seriously: Fairly recently I was accepted into another academic programme. The minimum requirement which was a master’s degree was a criterion I did not meet. For some reason or other, those vetting my application waivered that prerequisite and based my application on the other considerations. I suppose the diplomas would have still been allowed but I feel quite certain the bachelor’s degree helped towards a positive end. One of my mentors who is highly educated and runs an educational service once told me several years ago that there are just some doors that will not open without a bachelors/post-graduate education. I came to agree with him. It is a fact of life, whether we like it or not.

To know stuff: For this reason, I feel my goals demand I take some sort of business management course (preferably an MBA). What I know is good for right now but not where I plan to take my business. If not, I’ll have to one day hire people who have what I don’t. Either way the venture will get the expertise needed.

Improved Standards: the idea is that the education should add value to what you already do. In my case, I think that was a genuine realized advantage.

What should an entrepreneur learn?

Several entrepreneurs online told of two elements that motivated them to go back to school after failed ventures. Several reasons stuck out to me. They had identified the managerial skills gaps in themselves that they felt they needed to learn. Additionally, they determined that further education would give them global exposure and allow them to learn how to scale and strategise[ i].

So, the question may be: do you really need it?

Perhaps the right answer depends on what you are trying to do or planning to do later. Secondly, in this age of technology, education does not have to be as formally structured as bygone eras. However, as any entrepreneur would know, whether you get yourself a degree or not, the bottom line is you need to learn a bunch of new things. It is an investment.

A third consideration is that of the fact that if you are trying to raise funding from professional and or savvy investors, one of the qualities that will sway the typical investor’s favour towards investing in your venture is whether or not you offer quality management and have previous experience to back it[ ii].

As a female entrepreneur myself, I am drawn to the comments made in one Forbes article in regards to the predictability of success for female entrepreneurs in regards to going back to school for business success or furtherance of one’s career. Apart from other considerations you need to make, including the obvious financial implications and the importance of carefully picking the right programme for your needs, the source recommends you consider your long term goals as well. Worth noting from that source is that in some fields, an MBA or other qualification may be a requirement [ iii].

These are my thoughts? What are yours?

Sources

ii Kaplan,Steven N, Strömberg, Per. 2000. “How Do Venture Capitalists Choose Investments?”. Graduate School of Business, The University of Chicago, 1101 East 58th Street, Chicago, IL 60637.