Church nurturing young entrepreneurs

Undertaking a new mission under the youth ministry, the Dimapur Ao Baptist Church (DABA) made an effort of bringing in anyone who identifies as a young entrepreneur and all creative, social and business entrepreneurs to come together to share stories, create network and learn from each other.

Delivering a very inspiring and practical talking, Tiatemsu Longchar, chairman, Entrepreneurs Associates Thrift & Credit Cooperatives Federation Ltd (EATACOL) and also a member of Against Corruption and Unabated Taxation (ACAUT) Nagaland delivered to a gathering of 20 young entrepreneurs that wealth could be used in a variety of ways to further God’s mission.

Talking about the economy, in particular reference to the Ao-Nagas, he cited from historical facts and incidents that Aos became united and were compelled to come together because of common danger from outer forces and villages. Books and other literature sources has in record that the “purest form of democracy was found in the Ao land.” However, there was a paradigm shift after 1963. There was transformation in the field of education, politics and churches but we failed to bring in the change in the aspects of possessions and wealth. Factors like British rule and later underground factors destroyed the traditional economy.

“Our elders have survived under very difficult situations. It is now time for us to have a look back and reclaim our past glory, make right what is bad in our present,” Tiatemsu said.

It is now an established fact that government jobs have saturated and therefore, there has to be a way out. He said that Dimapur is the right place to start. Work, meet and seek out ways to help each other. “We all have skills and the understanding. And this is where we have to develop. We need to grow and help each other to grow for a holistic growth of our economy.”

Encouraging the young entrepreneurs to cast out fear and apprehensions related to business and taxations, Tiatemsu said, “After the Ceasefire, we see a drastic change in the business scenario. Syndicate system has captured the market. Now ACAUT is trying to remove the weeds and promote entrepreneurs. This is the right time to step up with determination to do bigger and greater business.”

Discussing from Biblical perspective, Tiatemsu said that in the Bible, 2350 verses talk about wealth management and out of the total 38 parables, 16 parables directly relate with wealth management. He quoted that “skill and understanding” are vital for any human to become a successful businessperson.

He said that as entrepreneurs, we have to recognize the God given mission for us to do good for the people and our society. He encouraged them to open up and expand saying, “do not limit your business to your home. The world is your market. You are as big as you think.”

Informing in line of taking loans, he told the entrepreneurs that without knowing and indentifying their talents and desires, they should not take loans. However, with their available resource, they should venture out and achieve what their hearts want. He added that it is very important for an entrepreneur to upgrade the understanding of their business every now and then.