History Of Entrepreneurship In Mauritius Business Essay

History Of Entrepreneurship In Mauritius Business Essay Several measures and policies have been implemented since independence regarding SMEs, the priority of the government of maximizing social welfare has been considered through the creation and promotion of entrepreneurial businesses. The origins of SMEs in Mauritius begins in the 1960s when Mauritius was experiencing a timid industrialization change-over with the main objective of supplying the local market with imported goods and helping the country to gain a certain autonomy. At that time, the government was encouraging the production of different types of commodities such as manufacturing of blades, electrical bulbs, batteries, soap, welding and steel work for construction, refining edible oils, plastic industry, food canning, industrial poultry breeding, yogurt manufacturing, biscuits, shoes and so on for the domestic market. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry established the Small Scale Industry Unit (SSIU) in 1976 which in 1983 became the Small Industry Development Organizati on (SIDO), the primary aim of such company was to provide general advice and guidance to small businesses and in 1988, the Small Scale Industry (SSI) experienced a true change-over through the presentation of the Small Scale Industries Act. This act promoted the development of the SSI by adopting a legal definition of SSI, voluntary registration of SSI, duty exemption on production equipment and the setting up of an advisory board. The Industrial Expansion Act 1993 consisted of the SMIDO Act which was considered as the next landmark in promoting entrepreneurship in Mauritius, the idea was to establish a framework for consolidating, expanding and enhancing the competitiveness and developing a SME sector. The government implemented a Ministry of SMEs in December 2003 and two years after the Small Enterprises and Handicraft Development Authority (SEHDA) was created following the union of the SMIDO and the National Handicraft Promotion Agency (NHPA). The SEHDA main objective was to prom ote a more effective and efficient use of available resources allocated to the entrepreneurial sector in Mauritius. The SEHDA Act 2010 was replaced by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development (SMEDA) Act and this was the latest development with regards to the SME policy framework in Mauritius. The SMEDA nowadays works under the aegis of the Ministry of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives and represent one of the most well-known organizations promoting entrepreneurship in the Mauritian economy. Definition of entrepreneur and entrepreneurship Who is an entrepreneur? The term entrepreneur has been defined in various forms over the past years based on professional experience of individuals or based on observations and researches made to understand what an entrepreneur is. According to the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon (1725), an entrepreneur is someone who accepts to pay a certain price for a commodity (for instance materials) and to resell it at another price thus deciding about the practical use of resources while consequently admitting the risk of enterprise. The French economist Jean-Baptiste Say (1803) stated that a business person is an economic agent who regroups all factors of production- land, labor, and capital and produces a product as such shifting economic resources out of an area of lower productivity to a higher one. The American management consultant Peter Drucker (1964) stated that an entrepreneur is one who looks for and respond to change, thus enjoying opportunities by converting a source into resource. Another defini tion implied that an entrepreneur is an individual starting a new business in a new market where no one before has started business, this was stated by W.B. Gartner in 1985. Thus it can be seen that the definition of an entrepreneur varies according to time and according to observations and perceptions of people who considers it as mainly individual making money by accepting to take risks to achieve his/her goal. But in order to understand clearly the concept, a simpler but direct definition should be considered and as such, an entrepreneur is an individual who decides to take the risks of managing a business and especially manipulating factors of production such as land, labor and capital for the sake of making profit. The main characteristics that an entrepreneur should possess are enthusiasm, intelligence, creativity, determination, courage to take risks, communication skills, human relation abilities, business secrecy, administrative ability, ability to manage pressure, leading skills, technical knowledge, problem-solving skills and so on. Entrepreneurs are classified based mainly on Functional characteristics being innovative, imitative, skeptical, cautious, or resistant to change. Development angle- being eager for expansion, survival, efficient, or concentrated only on local trading. Types of entrepreneurial business- manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing, or service business. Nine personality types of entrepreneurs- being an improver, advisor, highly qualified, highly creative, visionary, analyst, optimistic, leader, determined. Types of motivation- motivated by profit, rewards, and self-fulfillment. Types of area- urban or rural entrepreneurs Types of gender- male or women entrepreneurs. What is entrepreneurship? The term entrepreneurship has also been defined by some researchers, economist and consultants where different meanings have been developed in order to clarify what it is really. According to the economist Joseph Schumpeter in the 1930s, entrepreneurship employs the concept of gale of creative destruction where past innovations on the market are replaced by new ideas thus implementing new concepts for boosting economic growth. The two American economists Peter Drucker (1970) and Frank H Knight (1921) stated that entrepreneurship deals with taking risks for the sake of making money , the acts of free enterprise is often subjected to no guarantee that the individual will be able to challenges the market uncertainties. Entrepreneurship is considered to be a major driver of economic growth for a country according to the American economist David B. Audretsch, in Mauritius for instance, SMEs re greatly participating in the development of the country, especially in reducing poverty and unem ployment. But for now, let us define what entrepreneurship is really. It is the process of increasing business interests by adopting creativity and innovation in a way to set up an enterprise. It is the action of an individual involve in minimizing the use of resources and taking risks in order to generate profits. In Mauritius, free enterprise is usually referred to as Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) where a small enterprise is defined as a business generating an annual turnover of around 10 million rupees and medium enterprise is defined as a business having an annual turnover of not more than 50 million rupees. The SMEDA in collaboration with the Ministry of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives aims at promoting emergence and competitiveness of SMEs, advising the Ministry regarding how to control the SMEs sector and implementing support programmes. http://www.sbmgroup.mu/images/653_200_sme.gif Incentives for entrepreneurship For the past decades, there have been many incentives and supports given to enterprises for the promotion of the SME sector in Mauritius. The Ministry of Business, Enterprise and Cooperative has been working with different institutions to be able to provide the most services possible to small and medium enterprises, the budget 2012-2013 has considered financial services which include the release of Rs 3bn of loans from the banking sector to SMEs till 2014 at an interest rate of 3% above the repo rate that is 8.5 % and processing costs and related charges will be renounced. Here is a list of the different institutions and support schemes given to entrepreneurs. Small and Medium Industries Development Organization (SMIDO) Export Credit Guarantee Insurance Scheme: Joint effort of SMIDO and SICOM Ltd Protects the exporting SME against failure of buyer to pay all export transactions after shipment Pays 85% of the invoice value to the policyholder in cases of default Export Assistance Scheme Financial support to enable SMEs forward samples of their products abroad to prospective buyers 50% refund on airfreight subject to a maximum of Rs. 2000 twice a year Start-Up Scheme Financial support of up to a maximum of Rs. 100,000 to entrepreneurs to set up their enterprise Prospective recipients have to enter Business Plan Competition Training, Consultancy and Benchmarking Impart new and develop latent Skills, and Knowledge of entrepreneurs in various areas/fields through Training programmes, workshops and seminars Company analysis and guidance Business Counseling and Information Information and guidance to potential and existing entrepreneurs Assist entrepreneurs to prepare or update a comprehensive business plan Monitoring of business and advice Feasibility Study Grant Scheme Grant equivalent to 50% of the costs of a feasibility study for a viable project Max. amount granted Rs. 75,000 Study is to be undertaken by an approved consultant/consultancy firm Mauritius Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) Export Business Support Scheme Financial support for participation in trade missions organized by MIDA funding of up to 75% of cost of stand and 25% refund on the cost of air tickets Financial support for participation in other trade shows funding of up to 60% of cost of stand and 25% refund on the cost of air tickets International Credit Checking Service 50% refund on the cost of each search effected, subject to a max. of 5 company checks per annum SME Exhibition Centre Virtual Exhibition Centre Showcase and Communicate products of SMEs to both local and foreign buyers. Industrial Buildings/ Estates Rental of industrial buildings tailor-made for SMEs Overseas Market Testing Free testing of products in selected markets Assistance, Advice and Information Advice on Development of Promotional Tools Advice on Export Documentation Product Information in selected markets Assistance in Market Research Trade Information Centre Assistance and guidance for marketing trips Loans offered by the Development Bank of Mauritius (DBM Ltd) Scheme Max. Quantum Allocated Max. Loan Amount Interest Rate   (per annum) Term   (years) Start-ups 90% of cost of project Rs 200 000 8% 4 Financing of Production Equipment 70% of cost of equipment Rs 3 m 10 11% 5 Technology Improvement Scheme 60% of cost of project Rs 1 m 9% 6 Working Capital 70% of cost of stock Rs 400 000 to Rs 1 m 10 12% 4 Business Sector 70% of project costs Rs 3 m 12% 5 Construction of Office Commercial Space 70% of project cost Rs 3 m 12% 7 Construction of Industrial Building 60% to 90% of project costs Rs 3 m 11.5% to 12% 10 Printing Publishing 60% of cost of new equipment Rs 3 m 10% 5 Local Newspaper 60% of the cost modernization Rs 2 m 8% 5 General Service 70% of cost of project Rs 3 m 12% 5 Freeport Sector 75% of working capital requirements Rs 1 m 12% 5 ICT Sector 75% of cost of project Rs 1 to 5 m 8% 5 Joint Venture with Overseas Partners Rs 1 m 10% 6 Export Development Fund (for Overseas Market Surveys and Participation in Trade Fairs) 70% of project cost Rs 100 000 3% 3 Selected Investment Schemes Scheme/Certificate Qualifying Activities Key Incentives Export Enterprise http://smido.intnet.mu/images/bullet.gifManufacture of goods principally for exports No customs duty or VAT on raw materials and equipment Corporate tax of 15% No tax on dividends and capital gains 60% remission of customs duties on buses of 15-25 seats 50% exemption on the normal registration fee for the purchase of land and buildings 50% relief on personal income tax for 2 expatriate staff Pioneer Status Enterprise http://smido.intnet.mu/images/bullet.gifActivities involving above average technology and skills   http://smido.intnet.mu/images/bullet.gifActivities likely to enhance industrial and technological development No customs duty on raw materials and equipment as per schedule list Corporate tax of 15% No tax on dividends Strategic Local Enterprise http://smido.intnet.mu/images/bullet.gifManufacture of goods for local market http://smido.intnet.mu/images/bullet.gifActivity likely to further economic, industrial and technological development Corporate tax of 15% No tax on dividends Small and Medium Enterprise http://smido.intnet.mu/images/bullet.gifManufacturing activity subject to an investment in production equipment not exceeding Rs 10m No customs duty on production equipment and raw materials as per schedule list Corporate tax of 15% Freeport Enterprise http://smido.intnet.mu/images/bullet.gifOperations in the Freeport   http://smido.intnet.mu/images/bullet.gifGoods for export only http://smido.intnet.mu/images/bullet.gifStorage, assembly, redistribution and logistics No Corporate tax No tax on dividends No customs duty on raw materials, goods and production equipment Reduced port handling charges for all goods destined for re-export Barriers to entrepreneurship in Mauritius Development of entrepreneurs in Mauritius List of organizations engaged in promoting entrepreneurship Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) Mauritius Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) Development Bank of Mauritius ( DBM) Board of Investment (BOI) Mauritius Freeport Authority (MFA) Association Of Mauritian Entrepreneurs ( AME) Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) Conclusion

Prom Nights from Hell Chapter Thirteen

Miranda sat in the car watching the power boat disappear on the horizon, taking Sibby wherever she was going. You have no time to relax, she reminded herself. Deputy Reynolds might be headed for prison, but he can still talk, and you know he lied about how he found you, which means someone at Chatsworth knows something, and then there's the question of who put the bounty on your head and- Her cell phone rang. She reached across the seat to grab her suit jacket and tried to jam her hand into the pocket to get the phone, but the handcuff bracelet kept getting caught. She turned the jacket over and dumped everything onto her lap. She caught it on the last ring. â€Å"Hello.† â€Å"Miranda? It's Will.† Her heart stopped. â€Å"Hi.† Suddenly feeling shy. â€Å"Did you, um, have fun at prom?† â€Å"Parts of it. You?† â€Å"Me too. Parts of it.† â€Å"I looked for you after the bomb threat, but I didn't see you.† â€Å"Yeah, it got kind of hectic.† There was a pause and they both started talking at once. He said, â€Å"You first,† and she said, â€Å"No, you,† and they both cracked up and he started, â€Å"Listen, I don't know if you were planning to come to Sean's place for the after-party. Everyone is here. It's fun and all. But-† â€Å"But?† â€Å"I was wondering if maybe you'd want to get breakfast instead. At the Waffle House? Just the two of us?† Miranda forgot to breathe. She said, â€Å"That would be completely fantastic.† And remembering she wasn't supposed to be too eager, added, â€Å"I mean, that would be okay, I guess.† Will laughed, his warm-butter-melting-on-break-fast-treats laugh, and said, â€Å"I think it would be completely fantastic, too.† She hung up and saw that her hands were shaking. She was having breakfast with a guy. Not just a guy. With Will. A guy who wore space pants. And thought she was hot. And possibly crazy. Which, p.s., accessorizing with handcuffs is not exactly going to help. She tried again to snap the bracelets with her hand but she couldn't. Either these weren't normal cuffs or knocking out ten people in one night-actually eight, since she'd done two of them twice-was the limit of her strength. Which was interesting, her strength having limits. She had a lot to learn about her powers. Later. Right now, she had half an hour to find some other way to get the cuffs off. She started shoving things from her lap back into the pocket of her suit jacket so she could drive, then stopped when she saw an unfamiliar box. It was the one Sibby had given her when they met-could it seriously be only eight hours ago? What had she said, something odd. Miranda remembered it now, Sibby handing her the name sign and the box and saying, â€Å"This must be yours.† But with the emphasis different. â€Å"This must be yours.† Miranda opened the box. Inside, nestled in black velvet, was a handcuff key. Are you ready to own your future? It was worth a try.

Hardy Neutral Tones †Pathetic Fallacy Essay

Throughout Neutral Tones, Hardy effectively communicates his feelings about love using the natural world and its (neutral) colours and characteristics. His use of rich imagery of the natural world produces a melancholic note about love, which resounds through the whole poem portraying the end of an affair between Hardy and his former lover. The backdrop of the poem is set in the first stanza as a ‘winter day’. Hardy uses the time of year to convey a sense of melancholia as winter often has a negative connotation and is associated with colder feelings and emotions. In this way, ‘winter’ could be representing the frosty nature of the relationship and how Hardy’s former lover was cold towards him. The descriptions in the first stanza are all colourless (neutral tones) which suggests that Hardy feels as if he has no colour in his life, no love. His negative feelings about love are conveyed especially effectively here because they are expressed right at the beginning of the poem – this sets an unhappy tone for the first stanza, which deepens further into the poem. In the second line of the first stanza, Hardy describes the sun as ‘white’ and ‘chidden of God’. His use of the colour ‘white’ suggests that his feelings about love are blank (or neutral), lifeless, and even depressing. It contrasts with the typical colour of the sun – yellow – a symbol for vibrancy and happiness, both emotions that Hardy does not feel about or achieve from loving the woman. In addition, the sun and pond are circular and non-angular in shape; this portrays that Hardy feels as if there is no escape from the negativity that he finds to be attached to his love and that it is never ending, in a loop. Hardy also may have meant for the sun to symbolise his relationship – God could have made it shine with yellow positivity, but instead He has made it a drab white tone; perhaps Hardy feels as if his relationship and love have been condemned by God. Hardy’s miserable feelings are further emphasised by the alliteration of the letter ‘L’ in ‘a few leaves lay’ – when read aloud, the sound of the letter creates a kind of idle yet unsettled tone which relates to Hardy’s feelings towards love. He feels idle yet unsettled in the sense that whilst he cannot do anything to stop his affair from falling apart, he does not wish for it to do so. The ‘L’ sound contrasts with the ‘S’ sound later in the line, which is a harsher, more acute sound, perhaps representing the attitude of the lover towards Hardy at the end of their affair. The image created by the ‘few leaves’ symbolises Hardy’s feeling that the love between him and his lover is disintegrating; the leaves are related to natural life dying, but in this instance Hardy uses a metaphor to relate the leaves instead to love dying. The ‘starving sod’ suggests that Hardy feels that his relationship is ‘starving’, as if it were not being ‘fed’ enough love to keep it strong and happy and it has therefore been reduced to ‘sod’ – treaded on and not special. The leaves that ‘had fallen from an ash, and were gray’ symbolise the way that Hardy and his lover have also ‘fallen’ out of love. ‘Ash’ could mean ashes as well as the type of tree, carrying on the theme of death that was introduced earlier in the stanza. Also, the colour of ashes as well as the leaves is ‘gray’, a neutral colour, suggesting that Hardy has quite reserved feelings about love. In addition, the description of the fallen leaves from the ash is quite gentle – that is, that the language is relatively reserved. This conveys the lack of passion that Hardy and the woman share within their relationship. At the end of the third stanza, Hardy’s lover’s bitter grin is described as sweeping ‘thereby/Like an ominous bird a-wing†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ This suggests that Hardy feels a sense of impending doom about love and his relationship with the woman as if he knows that something harmful is bound to happen in the future and that the relationship is going down a dangerously steep downhill slope, destined for a crushing ending. The ‘bird a-wing’ kind of represents how his love and passion for the woman is flying away, like a bird. Another interpretation is that Hardy feels that the ‘ominous bird’ mocks him, circling over him like a bird of prey – he is stuck in a cycle of love and pain in his relationship whilst the he imagines the bird soaring free. In the last stanza, Hardy refers to the sun as â€Å"God-curst†. This depicts a change in Hardy’s feelings about love from the beginning of the poem – his language starts to show anger, rather than sadness. The reader or listener may interpret this as a religious reference from Hardy – perhaps he feels that his failing love is inevitable because it has been predefined by God (this introduces the idea of fate coming into the equation). The poem starts and ends with the same location and memory – the pond. This suggests that Hardy feels like he cannot escape from the constant cycle of love and pained grief that he has been experiencing, and that his memory of the pond scene and his feelings about love keep on repeating in his head; perhaps Hardy feels somewhat trapped within his own mind with no escape. Hardy’s description of the natural world at the end of the poem, ‘Your face, and the God curst sun, and a tree,/And a pond edged with grayish leaves.’ is very blunt and mostly monosyballic symbolising blankness, as if Hardy’s feelings are numb. This contrasts greatly with the much more emotive and descriptive language he used at the beginning to depict the same objects. This change suggests that Hardy has changed his view about love to a more cynical one, feeling as if love ‘deceives’ and tricks him. Hardy uses this paradox to combine the feeling of melancholia and the notion of a passionless relationship, emphasising the point that what passion there once was between Hardy and his lover is there no longer.

The Effects Of Water Pollution On African People - 1744 Words

An organization describes the effects of water pollution on the african people. Using a blog titled as â€Å"Ghana Water Project† to inform those who are coping with water pollution how serious the issue is, providing solutions to those who want to grasp the issue and take it in their own hands, and supply contact information to our research and the Safe Water Network. The Safe Water Network will receive donation that are given through our blog. The Safe Water Network is an organization that began in 2009 that installed â€Å"locally owned Safe Water Stations that would provide reliable, affordable, safe water to communities in need† (2009, para. 1). As of the water crisis currently in africa has improved because of solutions like the Safe Water Network project and the Rehabilitation of Korle Lagoon and its river. A reminder that water pollution is causing death to wildlife, the environment, and even humanity. As the Safe Water Network’s motto states â€Å"Toge ther we can do more† (2009, para 1). Water pollution is a serious global issue that is massively affecting Africa. The lack for proper sanitation due to poverty and the inadequacy of knowledge that the african people uphold sustain an environment full of injurious pollution. As the people continue to bathe and drink in such water, lives are put at risk. As the â€Å"Ghana Water Project† we assembled an organization to provide education globally about the effects of water pollution and assist in funding the Safe Water NetworkShow MoreRelatedWhat is Hydraulic Fracking?1027 Words   |  4 PagesSouth Africa, Karoo. The Karoo is at risk of contamination of ground water and in possible danger of losing its indigenous ecosystem. The effects of fracking are not only detrimental to the environment but also to the communities around the Karoo. 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