It is often argued that entrepreneurship offers a means through which people can have opportunities to economic prosperity for a growing economy. Indeed, the creation of new businesses is an essential engine of economic growth and helps to boost the economic fabric. They play an important role in the renewal of the business park. Entrepreneurship is also seen as an avenue for employment, poverty reduction, national income and ultimately, economic growth in a country. Scholars and business organizations have recognized poor population as a large potential market for selling a variety of goods and services with the ability to achieve full economic prosperity. An in-depth analysis of targeted entrepreneurship cannot ignore the cultural and historical factors and the mentality of the same community or country (population), from which most of the challenges and issues will find their origins. It is surprising to young people that they have a mind almost devoid of any constraint, leading them to respond creatively to questions that were once unanswered. And creativity is essential to the development of a new entrepreneurial activity. It is because the creator of a new product or service manages to get out of (and change) his framework of thought that he finds a concrete and appropriate solution to a given problem. Despite the economic potential that Guinea-Bissau presents in terms of natural, mineral, touristic and agricultural resources, its entrepreneurship ecosystem is in the embryonic form and far from the prospects that have been assigned due to the various challenges and issues. which the country is facing. A recent stakeholders consultation identified several structural challenges faced by the private sector in Guinea-Bissau. These challenges have led to increasing costs and risks of starting and/or running businesses in the country and deterred foreign domestic investments. Among other challenges, the education system is unanimously qualified as deteriorated and disconnected, leading to a shortage of workers with the right skill set to meet the private sector demand. Besides, entrepreneurs cite limited availability of finance as a major obstacle to their activities. Indeed, the environment of financial institutions is underdeveloped in Guinea Bissau, where the World Bank estimated that only 2.7 percent of businesses have access to bank credit and financial services, as opposed to 20.7 percent of businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole. Credit is often only granted to the country’s largest firms that operate on cashew farming and excludes most small businesses, and are short-term, thereby limiting opportunities for investment. The banks’ margins are high due to limited market size, high transactions costs and institutional instability. Furthermore, the microfinance sector is setback by regulatory and supervisory weaknesses, despite mechanisms introduced by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO). It should also be noted that Guineans rely mostly on remittances; for example, a study by Samuel Hall showed that 48% of Guinean receive funds through remittances and another study estimates that remittances benefit 70% of Guinea-Bissau families. For entrepreneurs to properly appraise risk and prospects between competitive options, it is necessary to understand certain key financial concepts. These concepts require financial literacy, which is very relevant to business operation, such as keeping track of expenses, revenue and investment choices. Overall need to plan the start-up of an enterprise and the fundamental for all this is financial literacy. While finance may not be the first or even the most important fundamental of entrepreneurship development – managerial capacity and markets come first – adequate capitalization is one of the crucial building blocks. This reflection leads us to believe that including entrepreneurship modules in the school curriculum can contribute and trigger the spirit and motivation within young people and eventually the entire Bissau-Guinean population. UNDP Guinea-Bissau is conducting an initiative to enhance financial inclusion through the creation and provision of innovative low-costs financial services and solutions that caters to the most vulnerable groups in local communities, Micro, small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), women, and the informal sector to improve inclusiveness in value chains, with a focus on youth and women entrepreneurship empowerment. Within this initiative, there is a support for designing, developing and integrating of Entrepreneurship and Financial Literacy Modules in the School Curriculum in the country. To this end, and under the supervision of the Head of the Strategic and Economic Unit a.i., UNDP Guinea-Bissau is hiring a Senior International Consultant to assist the Ministry of National Education. https://www.borgenmagazine.com/credit-access-in-guinea-bissau/ http://www.unesco.org/education/edurights/media/docs/93b0c189718eeb2e921036d4045f5fe0d2a1def0.pdf
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