SME community 'needs a shot in the arm'

SME community 'needs a shot in the arm'
PHOTO: SME community 'needs a shot in the arm'
In an example of how successful entrepreneurs can help new ones, Mr Teo recounted how Charles & Keith co-founder Charles Wong (above) got back to him with a solution after he sought the firm's help for a footwear start-up.

Although Singapore already has a good foundation of schemes and funds to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Action Community for Entrepreneurship (Ace) chairman Teo Ser Luck believes the SME community needs an injection of new life as Singapore's economy shifts towards higher value-add activities.

Mr Teo, who is also Minister of State for Trade and Industry, is looking at various ways to do this, such as taking lessons on entrepreneurship to schools and simplifying the application processes of existing support schemes for SMEs.

Encouraging young people to start their own businesses is one direct way to lead a revival of the SME community, said Mr Teo in an exclusive interview with The Straits Times last Thursday.

Mr Teo, who assumed chairmanship of Ace mid-last year, said he has a plan to create greater awareness of entrepreneurship among students.

Details will be available soon but one aspect of his plan will be to let students hear the stories of entrepreneurs.

"They hear about Google and Facebook and other start-ups, how their founders became multimillionaires," he said.

"But 99 per cent of start-ups also fail. So I also want them to hear these stories, how they picked themselves up and started again."

These students will likely be an enthusiastic audience, as studies show a growing interest in entrepreneurship among young people.

In a Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Students' Survey completed earlier this year, four out of five tertiary students in Singapore said they were interested in starting their own business.

"Today, more people want to chart their own life and do something they are passionate in. Starting their own business lets them do this," Mr Teo said.

Ace's job is to help people who are taking that risk of striking out on their own by ensuring that the roadblocks to founding start-ups are removed, he added.

So another area he is looking into is simplifying and broadening rules. For example, the Young Entrepreneurs Scheme for Start-ups under Spring Singapore had an age cap of 26.

But entrepreneurs come in all ages, so he removed the age cap to open up the scheme, now known as Ace Start-ups and administered by Ace.

"Another pet peeve of start-ups is documentation for government schemes and the lengthy approval time. I'm looking into this now, (to) see how we can make it simpler and get approval quicker," he said.

While the Government supports and facilitates entrepreneurs through various schemes and funds, Mr Teo believes successful businessmen also have a role to play in helping their younger counterparts.Often, the Government and the business community can work together to make opportunities happen, he noted.

"I met an entrepreneur recently who made footwear. She had sales but couldn't find a factory to make them because her order was small. So I got in touch with the Charles & Keith people to get help."

Charles & Keith co-founder Charles Wong did some research and got back to Mr Teo.

"He paid for the mould to make the slippers and let the entrepreneur ride on his larger production order. The new entrepreneur paid for the production but now she can fulfil her orders.

"This is how I hope successful entrepreneurs in Singapore could collaborate with new start-ups to help them grow."

Mr Teo hopes such collaborations will happen more frequently now that Ace has brought together a network of 60 mentors, all a phone call away from the start-ups under their wings.

"When start-ups have problems, they don't want to call a hotline; it's so impersonal. Better they speak to experienced entrepreneurs. Mentoring is a way to ensure the new start-ups have the best chance to succeed," he said.

One Ace mentor is Mr Manoj Sharma, chief executive officer of strategic consultancy DifferWorld, who is currently mentoring two companies funded by Ace.

Mentoring is useful to new start-ups, he said, as many are first-time entrepreneurs with little or no experience in juggling diverse activities such as managing, marketing, sales and hiring all at the same time.

Mr Teo is also counting on successful businessmen to help start-ups venture abroad. For example, Beijing-based Mr James Tan, co-founder of China's second largest group buying site 55tuan, now leads Ace's first foreign chapter in the Chinese capital.

"Now that the Beijing chapter is running, we'll look at expanding to other cities such as Shanghai and to other countries as well," Mr Teo said.

Mr Tan, who also chairs the Ace overseas sub-committee, said that the Beijing chapter will provide a "soft landing" for Singapore start-ups interested in expanding their businesses in China.

It recently held its first Ace Beijing Bluesky conference there last Friday where about 400 participants, including Singapore start-ups and government representatives, came to hear about business opportunities in the country and to network with Chinese entrepreneurs and investors.

chngkeg@sph.com.sg

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