Introduction The question, Are entrepreneurs born or made is important to multiple constituencies.

Despite this interest in this question, theres no agreed upon answer. There are many who believe that an entrepreneur must possess personality traits such as vision, passion and drive that are innate and cannot be taught. Others argue that the skills of evaluating opportunities, motivating people and operating a business are easily passed on to eager students looking to be entrepreneurs. The born or made debate Bo Peabody-an internet entrepreneurial multi millionaire- stated in his autobiographical book, One does not decide to be an entrepreneur. One is an entrepreneur. Those who decide to be entrepreneurs are making the first in a long line of bad business decisions His statement rather seems truthful if you consider Sir Richard Branson. Sir Richard Branson is a 51years old English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies. His first successful business venture was a magazine called Student at age 16. In 1970, he set up an audio record mail-order business. In 1972, he opened a chain of record stores, Virgin Records, later known as Virgin Megastores. Branson's Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s, as he set up Virgin Atlantic Airways and expanded the Virgin Records music label. Branson has dyslexia and had poor academic performance as a student according to records at Scaitcliffe School (now Bishopsgate School) and Stowe School. Branson is now ranked as the 4th richest citizen of the United Kingdom and 254th richest person in the world, according to the Forbes 2011 list of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of US$4.2 billion. Branson holds only honorary degree and is a case for entrepreneurs are born not bred.

Closer home, Hon. James Njenga Karume is a 82year old Kenyan businessman cum politician. Karume is an outgoing personality who was born in poverty, dealt charcoal and received minimal education and then, through his own initiative, ventured into business during one of the toughest times in Kenyas colonial history. Yet, he succeeded in business beyond anyones wildest dreams and rose to such prominence and popularity that he became a respected politician and Cabinet Minister who interacted intimately with all the first three Presidents of independent Kenya. He owns vast tea and coffee plantations, chains of beach hotels in coast, major buildings in city centre, huge transport companies, private schools, hotels and bars in Nairobi city centre, beer distribution chains and vast exclusive estates in London and South Africa. Despite his minimal schooling, hes arguably one of the richest persons in Kenya. Attempts have also been made to scientifically explain that entrepreneurs are born. Entrepreneurial tendencies, including the ability to recognize business opportunities, are heavily influenced by genetic factors, according to a study co-directed by Scott Shane, a professor of entrepreneurial studies at Case Western Reserve University. Shane and his fellow researchers compared the entrepreneurial activity of 870 pairs of identical twins -- who share 100% of their genes -- and 857 pairs of same-sex fraternal twins -- who share 50% -- to see how much of entrepreneurial behavior is genetic and how much is environmental. The mathematics behind quantitative genetic modeling are rather complicated, but the upshot was fairly straightforward: Entrepreneurs, the researchers concluded, are about 40% born and 60% made. Ten to 15 years from now, genetically advantaged entrepreneurs might be identified through DNA testing or psychological.

Additionally, a survey was carried out by the School of Technological Entrepreneurship at the Northeastern University involving of more than 200 U.S. entrepreneurs. Only 1 percent of those surveyed cited higher education as a significant motivator toward starting their own venture, while 61 percent cited their "innate drive." Other motivators cited were work experience (21 percent) and success of entrepreneurial peers within their industry (16 percent). On the other side of this wide spectrum, theres a belief that entrepreneurs can be nurtured or bred rather than born. Longtime entrepreneurial consultant John J. Rooney, managing director of Capital Partners IBG in Manhattan Beach, California, shares: "In my experience working with hundreds of entrepreneurs and teaching on the faculty at the University of Southern California's entrepreneur program, it is clear that much of entrepreneurship can be successfully learned. However, it is also clear that people who take positive action and are focused and committed and continue on despite some negative feedback or setbacks have skill sets and personality traits that can be inborn or learned."

Chris Kirubi defies expectations. At age 70, the Kenyan entrepreneur has built an empire spanning real estate, manufacturing and investments that ranks him as one of the wealthiest people in Africa. Kirubi specifically has interests in International Life House, capital fm, DHL Kenya, Haco industries and Uchumi. Chris Kirubi was grew up in a humble background but it was his brains that saw him to number 31 on Forbes 2011 most richest Africans with an estimated worth $300 Million. Kirubi is a Harvard Graduate and studied business management at

the prestigious, INSEAD, an acronym for the French name "INStitut Europen d'ADministration des Affaires", or European Institute of Business Administration.

Conclusion There are two sides to every debate, and the "Are entrepreneurs born or made" argument has raged for decades with neither side able to conclusively prove their case. The truth is that both sides are right and it's time for a compromise: Entrepreneurs are born and made. Some people may be natural entrepreneurs and immediately open a business, others will have studied and trained long and hard before doing so, and while each may enjoy some success, both will be as successful as the person who possesses the inherent qualities and has spent the time to get and education and experience the business world. References: Born Entrepreneurs, Born leaders: how your genes affect your work life Scott Shane et al 1998, Page 232 So You Want To Be An Entrepreneur: How to decide if starting a business is really for you - Jon Gillespie-Brown, 2009 Lucky or Smart: Secrets to an Entrepreneurial Life Bo Peabody, 2004 Business week magazine July 2010, digital version available at http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jul2010/sb20100723_154719.htm Cable News Network (CNN) business website http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/09/smallbusiness/entrepreneurs_born_not_made.fsb/ Wikipedia.com, Richard Branson autobiography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Branson