Piglet ears and 'catching' entrepreneurship

Now you may be wondering what piglet ears have to do with entrepreneurship - for me they are a reminder of when I first 'caught' entrepreneurship. I worked for a time in Malawi as a Small Business Advisor and instead  of catching malaria, I caught entrepreneurship instead! And I blame piglet ears and Mrs Malombe. She was this amazing Malawian entrepreneur, passionate and committed to providing for her family and community. She had a vegetable garden, village shop and a knitting machine - all enterprises that employed local woman and provided income for her large extended family. When I met her expansion was underway - she had built a piggery and all she needed was the pigs. So that day I drove half way across Malawi with Mr Chokani, one of the men I I worked with,  to pick up two piglets and transport them back to their new home. This was done in the Mazda station wagon that belonged to the Aid agency I worked for. As we reached Mrs Malombe's home I remember looking into the rear vision mirror and seeing four piglet ears and thinking what a difference these two would hopefully make  for that community. The delight and appreciation from Mrs Malombe was touching and her passion and energy was contagious - I had 'caught' entrepreneurship. 

Over twenty years later I am still 'suffering' - I love working in this space - whether it's research, teaching university students or working with entrepreneurs - for me it's all about the piglet's ears !