diff --git a/scripts/initenv.sh b/scripts/initenv.sh
index b4dab1bc..7194f445 100755
--- a/scripts/initenv.sh
+++ b/scripts/initenv.sh
@@ -9,6 +9,11 @@ if command -v lsb_release 2>&1 >/dev/null; then
         echo "You need to install python3-dev for installing the other dependencies."
         exit 1
       fi
+      if ! dpkg -l | grep build-essential 2>&1 >/dev/null
+      then
+        echo "You need to install build-essential for building Python dependencies."
+        exit 1
+      fi
       ;;
   esac
 fi