Which comes first, Money or Ideas? This common question has always justified hopelessness – a poor person is someone without education therefore with limited access to income (jobs and opportunities) and is trapped in a cycle of poverty.Here is some money – buy your way out of poverty. This approach has be tried and tested numerous times by well meaning institutions seeking goodwill and publicity, and claiming to be helping, with highly educated and experienced people talking down to and disrespecting the very people they are supposed to be helping up. Micro loans have been seen as a success but this system is widely misunderstood. Gifts and Loans do not help without the guiding support of education.
“I have an idea” the person that can make this statement is educated as opposed to “I need help”. Moving people from abject poverty to income sustainability requires a clear understanding of an education system, not to be confused with the formal structure of school, much like a parent leading and guiding their children, a teacher will need to live among their students, facing the same difficulties, processing, negotiating, overcoming and planning for the next challenge. Such leadership is hard to find and even more difficult to keep.
Individuals are commonly judged by their contribution to society; the young by academic grades and other (sport or music) talents, adults by acts of responsibility and elders by the example set and guidance offered. A developed society, educated, skilled and experienced, recognizes the benefits of continuing to educate its youth, having a skilled workforce and appreciating and respecting its more experienced members. Hence, ‘teaching to fish’ is high on the agenda, followed closely by ‘investing to grow’. Educate and finance; now that’s development.
Helping develop ideas require a multitude of skills and experience but most importantly, a driving ambition to success. For example, a mother’s desire to feed and educate her children can be responsible for the development of a new growth sector in a national economy, as her idea for a small home based business leads to better infrastructure (water and electricity) for her community and as she prospers and expands, the demand for support services grows, and soon, with her name on the product, quality suppliers, large factory production and storage, numerous employees including highly skilled management, she will be exporting, all because of a natural desire and a sound business plan.
It is easy to get money to fund a well thought out idea, show how this idea can benefit and improve the standard of living for many people. Raise equity by involving professionals in helping you develop your idea and writing a strategic plan. Extracts from the strategic plan can be submitted for equity and debt funding from financial institutions. The business plan must focus on growth and expansion but most crucially, on expanding markets.
Rationale
T.A.J & Associates Company Limited uses this occasion to comment on topics that have been covered, both academically and by the mainstream media, to add its opinion and point out investment opportunity, not to invoke any social action.
