Dear Editor,
Referring to the SN article of August 12 captioned ‘African Guyanese disinterest in business is myth -Greenidge,’ I believe there is value in Mr Greenidge’s assessment that “the flawed education system is partly responsible for the problem,” with ‘partly’ as the key word. However, I take this to mean education in the widest possible sense and not just in the sense of what is taught at schools and other places of learning.
Few African Guyanese grow up in an environment in which table conversation is centred around business matters or matters to do with the production and supply of goods and services. Sadly, African Guyanese may be more inclined to discuss the day’s purchases rather than the day’s sales, for the simple reason that African Guyanese economic activity tends more towards consumption rather than production or supply. Generally speaking, African Guyanese do not see themselves as having the means to produce ‒ land, labour or capital ‒ at their disposal, yet see these as prerequisites for venturing into business for themselves. The problem is compounded by the near absence of ethnic role models. In this sense I feel the problem is one of environment as much as education. In fact the two go hand in hand.
Though as Carl Greenidge says, “The education system should be teaching students about the value of business and what is required to be an entrepreneur” and has failed to do so, the system on its own cannot teach people to be risk takers. It is only the immediate environment that can build the level of self-confidence required to make the difference. There is no substitute for growing up in the environment of a family which is not dysfunctional where Uncle Peter is a car dealer, Aunt Sharon owns a supermarket and Cousin Kimberly owns a successful restaurant. These close-to-home realities have a far greater impact on a young person’s realization that they too can become a successful business person.
In most sub-Saharan African countries, the various private sectors are dominated largely by Africans and often by African women. Yet even in Africa some ethnic groups are more business oriented than others. In Nigeria, for instance, the Yoruba people make up the strongest business class. In Yoruba land every other person is an entrepreneur of one kind or another, and on visiting this part of Nigeria it is readily apparent that the environment is pregnant with deal-making and all types of economic activity.
At this stage it may be fitting to mention that the richest black woman in the world is now Nigeria’s Folorunsho Alakija who at 61 is worth at least US$3.2 billion and has dethroned Oprah Winfrey from that position. Ms Alakija started in the fashion business in the 1980s and then went into the business of drilling for oil. In the 1970s Ms Alakija was a secretary.
No doubt the secret of her success was both the empowering familial/ethnic environment as well as the enabling economic/political environment. Sadly, from an African Guyanese perspective, both are lacking in Guyana.
In the final analysis many African Guyanese are of Yoruba ancestry. The fact that they may have lost their entrepreneurial instincts may have less to do with them being disinterested and more to do with them being disinherited.
That said, there are steps a progressive government can take to improve this situation.
Yours faithfully,
F Hamley Casep
