How these skills are being developed in this assessment

You will develop a set of professional and creative skills through the co-development of the report; as you create the report you will focus on the development of your commercial awareness and demonstrate creativity. You will develop as more thoughtful, resilient, and proactive.

Assignment Task

Based on what you have learned from the Module about Entrepreneurship. Reflect on what could be a possible Business venture for yourself.

Write an individual report discussing what trends and changes in society you believe are creating important entrepreneurial opportunities in an industry that personally interests you, or an industry that you know is growing. Your idea, however, should be aligned with the UN sustainable development goals, i.e., you must clearly explain how your idea is relevant to one or some of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. (https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300 (Links to an external site.))

Describe how to take advantage of these trends and identify current and predictable gaps in competitive offerings. Quantify the potential market by estimating the number of consumers who may have the need that you have identified and by estimating the product/service adoption rate.

Identify some challenges and risks associated with launching a new product or service in that industry. Also profile some innovators and/or early adopters who are already seeking to create or acquire new products or services in that industry.

Your submission should be a written business report not exceeding 1,500 words (+/-10%). This does not include appendix material, but the appendices will be judged in terms of their relevance. The ideas should be clearly argued and structured. The report will have the following structure, with sub-headings and references to make it easier for the reader to follow your arguments.

– Executive summary (not included in the word count)

– Introduction

– Analysis

– Exploring trends and change to find a business idea

– Evaluating the business idea: opportunities, challenges and risks

– Identifying potential competitors in innovators and early adopters

– Conclusions (which summarise the findings above)

– References

– Appendices

Background/Context

The aim of this assessment is to help you understand the process by which entrepreneurs generate potential ideas for new ventures. You will have to develop knowledge and awareness about an industry or a sector that personally interests you and either create or spot an opportunity. The assignment is designed to encourage you to use not only concepts and techniques discussed in class but also to do research and reflect on current business trends, business innovators and lead users.

For this assignment, you will be expected to draw from appropriate business analysis techniques introduced in the lectures and the textbook Entrepreneurship and Small Businesses by Paul Burns (PESTEL analysis, AULIVE, Futures Thinking etc). You may use books and papers found on iCat and in the Learning Resources Centre and use recent business press sources (e.g., The Economist, Fortune, Financial Times etc), relevant trade publications and/or scientific/technical publications. You should NOT use Wikipedia, Encarta or websites with questionable information and remember that you should reference provide any information used in writing the assignment.