other 59 countries Bolivia has a very favorable attitude towards entrepreneurship: 76 % of Bolivians consider they have capacity to be entrepreneurs, 58 % believe there are opportunities to be entrepreneurs, 54 % have intentions to become entrepreneurs, while only 29 % have fear of failure.
In Bolivia, there is an active involvement in entrepreneurship from people between 18 to 64 years old. By 2010, 38.6 % of those people were participating in the early stages of new ventures, reporting a 29.5 % participation increase since 2008. This is the second highest participation level among the 59 countries that participated in the GEM 2010.
The GEM reports that 18.5 % of the Bolivian population between 18 and 64 have a established venture with 3.5 or more years of operations. This means that by 2010 more than 50 % of the Bolivian population is participating in some kind of entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneur Profile
The Bolivian entrepreneurs are most likely to be men with an elementary education, between 25 and 34 years old, and a monthly income of USD200. The main driver to become an entrepreneur is the opportunity to increase income. Women are part of a little less than half of new ventures, but there is a positive trend in their participation with a steady increase over the years. It is important to mention that some entrepreneurs do not have a formal education beyond high school and most of them beyond elementary school, which translates in severe technical deficiencies. Most of them are unemployed or consider themselves independent. Two thirds of Bolivian entrepreneurs do not make more than USD500 per month, which explains why the opportunity of increasing income is the main driver for Bolivian entrepreneurs.
Motivation and Drivers
The driver for people to become entrepreneurs can vary widely in different countries. In Bolivia, 38.5 % of the people reported that the principal motivation to start a new venture is the desire to increase their personal income. This makes great sense if we take into consideration that more than 50 % of the population lives in poverty and more than 20 % in extreme poverty. Around 21 % reported that necessity was their main driver, 18 % said that independency, and 21 % said it was a mix of all those factors( GEM).
Innovation
The degree of innovation in Bolivia is very limited, only 16 % of new ventures are reporting to be innovations in some way. This is very low compared to the 28.3 % reported by entrepreneurs in Latin America.; 84 % of new ventures do not offer anything new to the market and are very limited in innovation, and 90 % of established ventures with 3 or more years do not have an innovative proposal( GEM).
MANAGEMENT IN BOLIVIA
In order to conduct business in Bolivia the management style must be very formal and courteous at all times( Multicultural Management). People in top position must be treated with special respect, their authority is unquestionable and it should not be putted into doubt at any time while conducting business. In Bolivia is preferred to be overly formal than informal. Business is considered to be very serious and at no times people should take it lightly; especially foreigners. The rule of thumb is to be formal at all times no matter the situation.
Managers’ Functions
The communication across the organization is key in Bolivia. Cross-cultural management is highly
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