Creative Entrepreneurship: Opportunities and Challenges in Pakistan

Abstract

With the changing entrepreneurial landscape of competitive economies, creative entrepreneurship is documented as the new paradigm. Whereas as a field it is still emerging, rather focuses on the intellectual capital and is frequently perceived as the changing pattern of economic development in developed nations. Moreover, in Pakistan, the social construct and paradigm about creative industries and creative entrepreneurship are halting their emergence as an industry. Thus, the study aims to analyze the creative entrepreneurial sector in Pakistan based on the triple helix model; moreover, also analyzes the role each sphere played, namely universities, industry, and government in the development and promotion of creative industries and entrepreneurial activities happening in it. Using the qualitative method with indepth interviews from creative entrepreneurs, academicians in creative fields, and government officials were used for data collection. A total of 35 interviews were conducted. The results show that the creative entrepreneurial sector is brittle due to uncompetitive infrastructure including physical space and policy support, limited finances, and limited market access, which directly impact craftsmanship. Though policy interventions by the government, on both educational and industry levels, are needed to integrate entrepreneurial thinking in art education. Moreover, the integration of art at the elementary level is necessary for the orientation shift of society. The study offers important strategic policy interventions for the advancement of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of creative industries in Pakistan.