Entrepreneurship
At snail's pace
Despite official push, fewer than 6% Singaporeans involved
in business start-ups in 2004, TODAY reports
Feb 20, 2005
After
hectic years of promotion as a pillar for the future, entrepreneurial
spirit remains painfully elusive in Singapore.
Findings
from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2004 survey shoed
that Singaporeans were the least convinced among 24 countries
that business startup success would be accorded high status
in society, according to TODAY.
Its
Total Entrepreneurial Activity rose from 5 per cent in 2003
to 5.7 percent last year. This means that fewer than six
out of every 100 Singaporeans actually start a business.
The
slight increase came from a greater involvement in start-ups
by students from junior colleges, polytechnic and universities.
It increased
from 4.1 to 6.7% last year for junior colleges. Among polytechnic
students, the cases rose from 6.4 to 8.6%.
Experts
interviewed for the survey said Singapore performed best
in terms of: -
* Access
to physical infrastructure,
* Effectiveness
of university, management education and training, and
* Government
policy support.
On the
downside, Singapore got poorer ratings for:
* Effectiveness
of primary and secondary education,
* Training
(in preparation for entrepreneurship),
* Rapidity
in change in markets and
* Market
accessibility.
For
some time, the government has been restructuring laws and
providing millions in financial help to small business start-ups.
Bankruptcy laws were relaxed and residents were allowed
to register their HDB homes as 'office' for clean, quiet
business.
Despite
these measures, the results have been very slow for a number
of fundamental reasons, including: -
* Averse to risk. Singaporeans generally
fear taking risks, unlike people in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The
vast majority of its youths here study hard for tertiary
education so they can get a high-salary job.
* Scholarships. The best and brightest,
academically speaking, are channeled to the civil service
or political leadership to enjoy the best salaries in the
world, pulling away potential entrepreneurs.
*
Strong government business role. Critics also attribute
it to the stranglehold on business (including retail, food,
telecommunications and transport and other services) by
government-linked companies. Government rules this out.
Feb 20, 2005
