Keynote Address by SMS Teo Ser Luck at Startup Asia Singapore 2014 at Biopolis

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning.

Introduction

1.          Thank you for inviting me to be a keynote speaker at Startup Asia Singapore 2014. It is my pleasure to be here with all of you.

Importance of Entrepreneurship

2.          A little bit of my experience first. I was in the business sector for 15 years, and had my own start-ups. Most failed, but a few succeeded, and made a lot more money. Then one day, politics started looking for people. So I got on and decided that I can make a difference for a greater good, to try and serve. That is how I got into politics for more than eight years. I had 15 years in business, and now eight years in politics. I am in my dream job now, which is to build the entrepreneurship landscape in Singapore for start-ups and Singapore.

3.          What you see in this picture is a little vision, and it is just nearby. We have this vision of creating our own Singapore Silicon Valley, but I will call it Singapore Valley for start-ups. It started with Block 71 where many of our start-ups are, and maybe some of you are already in 71. We want to expand it to two more blocks and probably more in the future. We hope to build it into a regional entrepreneurship hub, our own Singapore Valley, where it will house the activities for start-ups, venture capitalists, and investors. It is an area where everybody will congregate and things will happen there. We will have brilliant ideas, develop it, and have networking sessions there. When this builds up, we will spend a lot of time over there. Of course we will have policies, which will enable the start-ups to view Singapore as an attractive place to be in and to build up their businesses.

Singapore’s entrepreneurial journey

4.          For the last 12 years, Singapore as a Government and policy maker decided that it is time to actually build up the entrepreneurship landscape. So in 2003, we decided to set up an entrepreneurship committee and this entrepreneurship committee was called ACE – Action Community for Entrepreneurship. The committee comprise of government officials and the private sector. What we try to do is to look at policies to encourage businesses to start. At that time, Block 71 was not marked as an entrepreneurship building. So they were trying to build the content, the culture, the society and the Singapore community. It has been a ten-year journey and I would say that the community has achieved a lot. In that ten years, there is a lot more interest in entrepreneurship and Singapore.

5.          The 2012 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor found that more than 21% of respondents from Singapore had the intention to start a business within three years, a figure which was second only to Taiwan. The number of active start-ups has also grown by 58% from 24,000 in 2005 to 39,000 in 2013, indicating an increase in entrepreneurial activity. As such, we believe that entrepreneurship is an important pillar of our economy, which can enable a renewal and refresh of the business sector. This is especially for the SME sector and Singapore businesses.

6.          ACE is now 11 years old, and we have to take a new fresh start for entrepreneurship. The landscape is now much different with technology and social media start-ups. There is a lot more variety and diversity, as well as greater specialisation in some start-ups. The economy has changed from a pure brick-and-mortar in the past to a technology-enabled one. It is also moving towards a sharing economy, where businesses use shared technology. Some of the brick-and-mortar businesses are back as well. So if you have read the recent article in New York Times, very traditional board games can be revived through crowdsourcing, crowdfunding and technology improvements. We hope that with these brilliant ideas, some old ideas like brick-and-mortar businesses can also build themselves up. The landscape is rapidly changing so we too have to change, and we have to do it differently.

Refreshing Singapore’s entrepreneurship strategy

7.          The entrepreneurship committee I used to chair and took over for about two years, has been around for the last ten years. We find that it is timely to refresh it. The committee will be private-sector led, so as to allow more things to happen and be shared openly. This committee will no longer be with the Government. The private sector will lead in this movement, while we will take the backseat, support and enhance it. We intend to let the ACE Committee incorporate and become an entity led by the private-sector. It is a major move, and not many has done this before, but I believe that is one of the ways to create our own Silicon Valley and our own entrepreneurship landscape.

Importance of Regional Linkages and Nurturing the “software” of the entrepreneurial community

8.          For that to happen, you need the hardware, and you also need the software. We have many successes and need to position Singapore carefully. I think Singapore is a great springboard and a stepping board towards the world, towards ASEAN, towards the region – that is how we would position ourselves. The market may not necessarily be Singapore, but the fact is that we are linked to the world, or at least part of the world. That is what we hope could attract the start-ups and premium entrepreneurs to step into Singapore.

9.          For all start-ups to have a great environment, we do not just need hardware. I have mentioned that we need a bit of software, and we also need to have the support system. The support system would come in terms of investors, such as venture capitalists and international investors, which we hope to attract to come to Singapore. Government funds, research & development, technology, good start-up entities can make a difference and we will work to make that happen. But they also need to have a network of support, including mentorship. We hope to be able to build that system and are talking to many different partners. 

10.     Today, I am glad to share that we managed to convince Bain and Company to be part of our exciting entrepreneurship landscape. Some existing and former consultants of Bain have decided to come together and support this effort.  Entrepreneurship is an important pillar of our economy and the Government will continue to support it. Growing a vibrant business community for entrepreneurship in Singapore is also something close to my heart. I’m glad to announce the new ‘Bain/Bain Alumni-ACE Mentorship Programme’ today, which is the first of such partnership with an international consultancy firm for mentorship.  This will further enhance our goal to seed and develop quality start-ups in Singapore. Through this programme, we hope that promising start-ups can gain valuable management advice from these mentors and build connections to help them internationalise, strategise and acquire new customers, partners and talents. I believe this collaboration will be a catalyst to encourage more savvy entrepreneurs and industry experts to share their experience and advice with our start-ups.

Conclusion

11.     In conclusion, Singapore’s entrepreneurship scene has come a long way, and we hope to see it continue to progress, and hopefully make a difference to the community. Most importantly, we hope to inspire many more young people, and anyone who is inspired to be an entrepreneur but never had the chance, to actually start your business in Singapore. By inspiring and helping them understand, we hope to change the generation, and Singapore’s mindset to accept failures along the path towards success. It is never easy in a country like Singapore because we have unemployment rate that is hovering along 2% or below, and the economy is growing, with more jobs to compete with, and more jobs waiting for people. It is never easy but we believe in the Singaporean spirit, to venture out and to chart your own future. For that I hope that we can all play a part. On that note, I wish everyone a fruitful time at the Startup Asia Singapore 2014.

12.     Thank you.