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Entrepreneurship and Startup · Entrepreneurial Skill Sets

Developing Entrepreneurial Skills and Competencies for CMA Final

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Entrepreneurial skills are not born; they are built. You develop them through structured training, Entrepreneurship Development Programmes (EDPs), mentoring, hands-on experience and continuous learning. To answer exam questions, name the method, explain how it builds a specific skill, and link it to a support initiative or a case.

Understand Developing Entrepreneurial Skills and Competencies

A skill is the ability to do a task well. A competency is a wider bundle of knowledge, skills, attitude and behaviour that lets a person perform a role successfully. An entrepreneur needs both: for example, financial skill is a skill, while the habit of taking calculated risks and following through is a competency.

The key idea is that these abilities can be learned. Some people start with a natural advantage, but most entrepreneurial skills improve with planned effort and feedback. This is why institutions run programmes for first-time founders.

There are five main routes to build skills:

  • Training: structured instruction on a defined skill such as costing, marketing, or digital tools.
  • EDPs: Entrepreneurship Development Programmes combine motivation building, opportunity identification, project preparation, and knowledge of finance, law and support schemes. They help a person move from idea to enterprise.
  • Mentoring: an experienced person guides a founder one-to-one, shares judgement, opens networks and gives honest feedback.
  • Experience: learning by doing, including internships, working in a startup, running a small pilot, and learning from failures.
  • Continuous learning: keeping up through courses, reading, peer groups, incubators, and updating skills as technology and markets change.

India has several support channels for this. Startup India, incubators and accelerators, institutions that run EDPs and skill programmes, and industry associations all help founders learn. In an exam, mention such support in general terms and do not quote figures or scheme details unless you are sure of them.

Think of the methods as complementary. Training gives knowledge, mentoring gives judgement, experience gives confidence, and continuous learning keeps the skills current. A strong answer shows how they work together rather than listing them alone.

How to solve Developing Entrepreneurial Skills and Competencies questions

Use this method for any question on how entrepreneurial skills are developed, whether it is theory or a case.

  1. 1Read the question and identify what is asked: a method, a role, a programme, or a recommendation for a given person.
  2. 2Define skill and competency in one or two lines if the question is a descriptive one.
  3. 3Pick the relevant development routes: training, EDP, mentoring, experience, continuous learning.
  4. 4For each route, state what it builds and how. For example, mentoring builds judgement and networks through guidance and feedback.
  5. 5Link each route to the gap in the case: identify the weak skill first, then match the method to it.
  6. 6Add a relevant support initiative such as an incubator, an EDP provider or a government startup programme, kept general.
  7. 7Close with a clear conclusion or recommendation, such as which combination suits the person and why.

Quickest way: Gap, Method, Support

When to use it: Use it for case-based MCQs and short 14-mark answers when time is limited.

  1. Gap: write the skill the person lacks (finance, marketing, leadership, confidence).
  2. Method: choose the best-fit route (training for knowledge, mentoring for judgement, EDP for a first venture, experience for practice).
  3. Support: name one institution type that provides it.
  4. Result: one line on the expected outcome.
  5. For MCQs, eliminate options that confuse a skill with a trait or that treat skills as fixed from birth.

Common mistakes in Developing Entrepreneurial Skills and Competencies

  • Saying entrepreneurs are born and skills cannot be taught.

    Students mix up personality traits with skills.

    Fix: State that traits may be natural to some degree, but skills and competencies can be developed through planned effort.

  • Treating an EDP as only a funding programme.

    Students link government programmes with money.

    Fix: Explain that an EDP covers motivation, opportunity identification, project preparation, managerial skills and awareness of support, not just finance.

  • Confusing mentoring with training.

    Both involve a person teaching another.

    Fix: Training is structured and group based on a defined skill. Mentoring is personalised, long term, and based on guidance, advice and networks.

  • Listing methods without linking them to the case.

    Students write memorised lists.

    Fix: Identify the person's skill gap first and match each method to it.

  • Quoting scheme names, numbers or dates from memory.

    Students want the answer to look detailed.

    Fix: Use only details you are sure of. Describe support in general terms instead.

  • Ignoring continuous learning after the business starts.

    Students see skill building as a pre-launch activity.

    Fix: Add that markets, technology and regulation change, so skills need regular updating.

Worked examples

Example 1

Meera, a CMA trainee from Pune, wants to start a packaged millet snacks business. She has product knowledge but no idea about costing, pricing or dealing with distributors. Advise how she can develop the required competencies.

Show the solution
  1. Identify the gap: she lacks financial skills (costing and pricing) and market and negotiation skills (distributors).
  2. Training: she should attend short courses on costing, pricing and basic marketing to fill the knowledge gap.
  3. EDP: an Entrepreneurship Development Programme will help her prepare a project report and understand finance, licences and support schemes.
  4. Mentoring: an experienced food-business owner can guide her on distributor terms, margins and common mistakes, and introduce her to contacts.
  5. Experience: she should run a small pilot sale to test pricing and learn from customer feedback.
  6. Continuous learning: she should keep updating her knowledge on food regulation, digital sales and trends, possibly through an incubator network.

Answer: Meera should combine training (costing and marketing), an EDP (project preparation and support awareness), mentoring (distributor dealing and judgement), a pilot for experience, and continuous learning. Each method targets a specific gap, so together they build her competency.

Example 2

Explain the role of mentoring in developing entrepreneurial skills and distinguish it from training.

Show the solution
  1. Define mentoring: a relationship in which an experienced person guides a less experienced entrepreneur.
  2. Role 1: it transfers practical judgement that books do not give, such as how to handle a cash crunch.
  3. Role 2: it gives honest feedback on decisions and plans, which reduces costly errors.
  4. Role 3: it opens networks of customers, suppliers and investors.
  5. Role 4: it builds confidence and a long-term view.
  6. Distinction: training is structured, usually group based and short term for a defined skill; mentoring is personalised, flexible and ongoing, and focuses on guidance and judgement.

Answer: Mentoring develops entrepreneurial skills through personalised guidance, feedback, networks and confidence building. It differs from training, which is structured and skill specific, while mentoring is individual and continuing.

Exam tips

  • Always tie the method to the skill it builds; a bare list earns few marks in a descriptive answer.
  • In case questions, name the person's gap before recommending any method.
  • For MCQs, watch for options that say skills are inborn or that EDPs only give loans; both are wrong.
  • Use a short structure of five headings: training, EDP, mentoring, experience, continuous learning, and add a one-line conclusion.
  • Keep support initiatives general unless you are certain of the exact scheme details.

Practice questions from Entrepreneurial Skill Sets

Developing Entrepreneurial Skills and Competencies: frequently asked questions

What is an Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP)?

An EDP is a structured programme that prepares people to start and run an enterprise. It typically covers motivation, opportunity identification, project preparation, managerial skills and awareness of support and finance.

How does mentoring help an entrepreneur?

A mentor shares experience, gives feedback on decisions, and opens useful contacts. This helps the founder avoid common errors and build confidence.

What is the difference between a skill and a competency?

A skill is the ability to perform a specific task. A competency is a broader combination of knowledge, skills, attitude and behaviour needed to perform a role well.

Can entrepreneurial skills really be learned?

Yes. While some people have natural strengths, skills improve through training, practice, mentoring and feedback. This is the basic reason EDPs and incubators exist.