Page 6 - THE CARIBBEAN ADVANCED PROFICIENCY EXAMINATIONS

Entrepreneurship Syllabus

 RATIONALE

Entrepreneurship seeks to empower students by providing the knowledge, skills and attitudes to
achieve entrepreneurial success in a variety of settings. It places emphasis on the individual’s acumen
to realise opportunity, assess risk, and apply the skills necessary to transform innovative ideas into
viable, sustainable ventures. The CAPE Entrepreneurship syllabus provides students with the mindset
that supports creativity and innovation needed to transform ideas into ventures that create value and
wealth.

In developing this syllabus consideration was given to the relatively high rate of unemployment,
constraints on job creation, the imperatives of globalisation in the Region, and the need to inculcate
the spirit of entrepreneurism. Recent research has shown that one of the main obstacles to individuals
starting their own business ventures is the lack of knowledge of how to transform an idea into a
successful venture. Most aspiring entrepreneurs lack the ability to analyse opportunities, assess risk,
develop and implement a business plan in order to get their ventures started. The CAPE
Entrepreneurship syllabus seeks to fill that void in the continuum from idea generation to venture
creation.

Several governments, as well as many non-governmental organisations in the region have
implemented entrepreneurial initiatives which offer training, tax incentives, funding and start-up
support to individuals to assist them in actualising entrepreneurial ambitions. The syllabus apprises
students of ways to access these training, technical support, funding and legislative incentives.

The syllabus addresses fundamentals of entrepreneurial behaviour and thinking and engages students
in practical experiences through idea generation and opportunity identification to implementing,
managing and harvesting a venture. The syllabus also acquaints students with the essentials of
business ownership, legal and regulatory frameworks, the importance of market research, feasibility
analysis and the development of a business model in order to successfully compete in the global
marketplace. It contributes to the development of the Ideal Caribbean person, as agreed by CARICOM
Heads of Government, essentially supporting “the creative imagination in its various manifestations
and nurtures its development in the economic and entrepreneurial spheres in other areas of life”. In
keeping with UNESCO pillars of learning, students will learn to know, to do and transform oneself and
society in a sustainable way. The syllabus provides a good foundation for further studies in
Entrepreneurship, starting and operating a venture and/or becoming an entrepreneurial employee
(intrapreneur).

CXC A31/U2/13 1 www.cxc.org