Family Enterprise

Enterprising through Promoting Familipreneurship for Sustainable Poverty Reduction, Employment Generation and Economic Growth.

SM Mijanur Rahman, Senior Officer, Bangladesh Krishi Bank, BANGLADESH

Corresponding E-mail: mizanbkb@gmail.com,

Abstract: This paper proposes Family Enterprise as a means of Enterprising through promoting Familipreneurship for sustainable Poverty Reduction, Employment Generation and Economic Growth. Familipreneurship means entrepreneurship of a family as an entrepreneurial unit gained through Family Environment. Family is the oldest, largest in number, longest in existence organization of human history and ultimate institution of mankind and is always viable as an economic unit. Family as a fundamental unit of our social construct serving the family means serving the society and the civilization as a whole. This paper proposes Familipreneurship Education for Enterprising and urges further study on Familipreneurship to capture its salient features and dimensionalities for replication.

Summery: Despite vigorous multidimensional efforts worldwide poverty is still the biggest enemy of mankind. Existence of poverty paves the way for several consequent problems which affect all sphere of life. In many countries like Bangladesh prevalence of poverty is increasingly alarming. Ensuring poverty reduction will enhance all other development process and eliminate many other problems. Our experience of overall poverty reduction is very depressing. Dream of sending poverty to museum begin to shrink; especially after starting contemporary controversy of microcredit, recognized as most powerful tool to fight against poverty, is deepening this desolation. Poverty, unemployment and economic growth are integrated and interdependent socio-economic phenomenon.

Promotion of enterprise is one of the tested and trusted ways for sustainable poverty reduction, employment generation and economic growth as well as wealth creation for the future generation. Many countries are doing well adopting this policy in their national economic development agenda. Post-war Europe and some emerging Asian countries may be the best example. Many developing countries are adopted this policy. But most of the efforts are towards existing, promising and profitable enterprise, distinguishing as SMEs. Institutional effort of creating new enterprise is very poor; there is no standardized system of creating new enterprise. Seemingly finance capital is the key element of creating enterprise but this view does not agree with our experiences. Our experience shows that finance capital alone can’t create enterprise, even it is not the most important element for enterprising yet our financial investment towards new enterprise creation is very little. There are common understanding that inadequacy of land, labor, capital, technology, knowledge and entrepreneurship are the obstructs for enterprising. Familipreneurship reduces these obstructs.

Family as an entity is the oldest, largest in number, longest in existence organization of human history. Families are unique and fundamental unit of our social systems and they are permanent, based more on moral obligation than contractual agreement. Future generations will carry on their ancestor’s knowledge and experience of togetherness both culturally and arguably, genetically. Familiness, especially in southern part of the world, is so powerful, effective and long lasting that family as an organization throughout the history exists without any oral or written constitution or standard norms. Matrix relations among the family members enable them to combine and best utilize their personal and collective financial, human, physical, social, cultural, natural and intangible capitals.  

Considering this, family as an organization of one or more individuals is more capable rather than an individual to create a new venture/enterprise. Just as individuals have brains and beliefs, families (organizations) have “cognitive systems and memories . . . world views and ideologies” (Hedberg, 1981). In many cases founder of a family enterprise did not have any formal education let alone enterprise education, but they did very well in their job. Once a family enterprise is created, the next generation carries this on because of inherent Familipreneurship, which has barely been highlighted in entrepreneurship literatures. If next generation fails to carry on, then easily they can start their alternatives because of their entrepreneurial qualities created through Familipreneurship. Alone with many other instances, Chak Bazar and Khatunganj, two largest wholesale market in Bangladesh  are dominated by ‘Kuttis’ and ‘Sowdagors’ (Groups of business people of Dhaka and Chittagong are locally known as ‘Kuttis’ and ‘Sowdagors’ respectively) who are mostly illiterate but upholds strong entrepreneurial knowledge and skills inherited from their families. So they are dominating the context from generation to generation. Most of them do not have any formal entrepreneurial education or training; only reason behind their success is Familipreneurship; entrepreneurship of a family as an entrepreneurial unit gained through family environment. Practical knowledge of enterprise is gathered through ‘doing’, usually have very little formal education, even the exceptions do not complete their secondary level education, then starts enterprise or venture with other family members. In most cases they are successful.

Globally percentage of enterprises owned or controlled by families is an average around 70 percents. So as an enterprise, strength of family enterprise is proven. Recent studies on family entrepreneurship have only addressed the traditional issues of individual entrepreneurs in the family. Family enterprise will flourish in future for its inherent qualities. If we can create a family enterprise it will be continued or diversified by next generation. Creating micro and small family enterprise could be an effective strategy for sustainable poverty reduction. And this process could be institutionalized through formal Familipreneurship education. Knowledge of Familipreneurship could be gathered from study and research on those successful family enterprises. We have to chalk out those special features of those families that made them successful. Context of Familipreneurship is unique in nature since it is a live and continuous and interactive. It involves the whole family as a business organisation. Once it is started, it goes on for ever. Knowledge on Familipreneurship gathered could be transferred to potential/interested families.

Through Familipreneurship every single individual of a family achieves the power and capacity to combine, transform and utilize personal and family wealth and scattered resources into performing capitals. Knowledge and skills of Familipreneurship is transferable through generation to generation. Familipreneurship creates a natural environment of generating and transferring knowledge and skills to reach their personal and collective goal which will accelerate the whole enterprising process as well as economic development. Promoting Familipreneurship could be the best solution to create new family venture/enterprise in a less or under or least developed economy where inadequacy of resources is strongly prevalent. This paper explores the way of creating family enterprise through Familipreneurship education, and proposes further study on Familipreneurship from the perspective of a family as an entrepreneurial unit, not the lone individual hero, and through this way bridge the knowledge gap in entrepreneurship literature in north and south.

(Full paper is available on request)

Key Words: Familipreneurship, Familipreneurship education, Enterprising, Poverty reduction.