By: Francis Danso, Chief Executive Officer
Mackay Paints

Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is a very important week in November of every year, recognised globally as the largest celebration of entrepreneurs and innovators who bring ideas to life and empower new entrepreneurs, startups, and those who face systemic barriers to starting and scaling their own company.

With the direction that the world is moving towards and the popularity of technology, it is easy to associate Global Entrepreneurship Week as one that’s designed to shine a spotlight on innovations in the technology space; thus drowning other advanced innovations outside that space.

While some may think that innovation is about the advancement of technology, artificial intelligence, automated machines, and now the buzzword on the internet – “metaverse”, it’s important to always remember that innovation transcends any one industry or sector.

Innovation happens across industries, whether it is Agriculture, Manufacturing, Construction, Retail, or Production.

Mackay Paints, for instance, does not fall under a tech companies category but technology is part and parcel of our production process and operations of the business.

We are innovative in the production process of our superior and durable paint products but we are not a tech company.

As an Entrepreneur and CEO of what could be considered a ‘non-tech business’, I want to use this Global Entrepreneurship Week to encourage aspiring and nascent entrepreneurs to not despair in the midst of the hype of tech companies.

There are lots of opportunities that will always exist in the non-tech industries, and there will always be a demand for products that people use on a daily basis.

Mackay Paints does the heavy lifting that enables entrepreneurs and makes it easier for them to flourish in their businesses. While Mackay Paints does the manufacturing and production of all kinds of paint products, great entrepreneurs put the products on their retail businesses and sell them to the end-user, the customers who go on to paint their homes or seal their leaking roofs. These are entrepreneurs that we celebrate and encourage during this Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Entrepreneurship is highly encouraged, even more now in South Africa as the unemployment rate continues to climb to an all-time high. Diversity of businesses is very vital. Not everybody needs to go the tech route. If you are an aspiring entrepreneur but have no tech skills or knowledge, focus your enthusiasm and energy on what you can do. 99.99% of what you can do has a niche and demand.

Embrace technology and all its advances, and do so in order to bring about innovation in your business of choice.

For more information, visit www.mackaypaints.co.za. Follow on social media here: Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.