With the introduction of money, a new method of determining the values of products and services had to be invented.  In a simple bartering transaction, values were determined by consensus between the bartering parties.  Auctions were probably then invented to determine values of products and services through mass consensus.  In the auction process, the price of a product/service was determined by demand and supply, which could be viewed as a process of mass consensus regarding price determination. It was only after the discovery of money, the introduction of auctions where demand and supply determine prices that entrepreneurship activities started to get momentum. The term entrepreneurship has for the 1^st time been described in the 1800’s when the French economist Jean Baptiste Say produced the following definition:

 “An entrepreneur is a person who shifts economic resources out of an area of low productivity into an area of higher productivity and greater yield”.

Economic Evolution

The economy of the world evolved through major phases, starting with the extraction phase where Man discovered how to extract metal from rock.  This phase was followed by the artisan phase where, man made artefacts from the various metals.  The artefact phase was followed by the industrial phase (late 18^th and early 19^th century), which had a huge impact on the general standard of living.  In this phase, entrepreneurs managed to build machines, which were capable of producing in mass.  As machines replaced artisans and workers, many people lost their jobs.  The demand for crafty hands was fortunately soon replaced by a huge demand for administrative skills.

The next phases to follow emerged due to increased competition between mass producers.  Marketing (principles and concepts) was invented by entrepreneurial producers to create a competitive advantage, and to gain market share.

The marketing phase then paved the way for customisation and niche marketing.

The so-called new economy emerged when information technology replaced many administrative skills.  This is a mirror image of what happened during the industrial revolution when manual jobs were taken over by machines

At this point, producers started searching for new markets.  These “new” markets have also reached saturation, and the “new economy” is now in need of revolutionary new products/services and therefore new economic solutions. Entrepreneurship has now become a key driving force in this new economy and is accurately described by the following definition:

“Entrepreneurs are those people who manage to create/develop/ supply new and/or better economic solutions.  These solutions are in the form of goods/products/services, created to solve problems for customers in various target markets”.

Real entrepreneurs are, however, only individuals who manage to create new and/or better “economic solutions” for the market. New venture creators are definitely viewed as real entrepreneurs, but many other individuals could also fit this description.

These individuals were and still are responsible for the improvement of the standard of living of mankind.

This new economic phase will require more lateral (intuitive) thinking, not only vertical (logical) thinking, which was perceived to dominate during the industrial economy.  New revolutionary products and services need to be created.

In my opinion, education institutions are unfortunately still producing “administrators” and not entrepreneurs.  Entrepreneurs are the key-driving forces in the “new economy”.

We therefore need a “fundamental rethinking of what education systems are actually supposed to deliver”.