Mr Teo Ser Luck at the Opening Plenary of the World Entrepreneurship Forum, 3 Nov 2011

WELCOME ADDRESS BY MR TEO SER LUCK, MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY, AT THE OPENING PLENARY OF THE WORLD ENTREPRENEURSHIP FORUM ON 3 NOVEMBER 2011, 9AM AT ISLAND BALLROOM, SHANGRI-LA HOTEL

Excellencies

Founding Members of the World Entrepreneurship Forum

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentleman

Good morning

Introduction

I am pleased to join you for the fourth edition of the World Entrepreneurship Forum. Let me first warmly welcome all think-tank members and foreign delegates to Singapore.

We are privileged to host this important Forum that aims to shape a better world by creating wealth and pursuing social justice through entrepreneurship. With the presence here of 130 think-tank members from 60 countries over the next few days, we can expect a stimulating exchange of ideas and the development of concrete action plans towards achieving the lofty goals of the Forum. The outcome of your discussions would have the potential to impact millions around the world over the next few decades.

Emergence of Asia

Asia is fast becoming a major driving force in the world economy with its outflow of innovation, thriving entrepreneurship, and rising affluence.This trend is set to continue with emerging countries like China, India and the ASEAN region growing rapidly. It is therefore quite apt that this latest edition of the Forum is being held in Asia.

Four Pillars of the World Entrepreneurship Forum 2011

Asia encompasses and embraces the four pillars upon which the Forum is founded. Let me highlight some Asian examples related to these pillars and draw some useful lessons.

The first pillar aims to create high growth companies.From 1980-2005, firms less than five years old accounted for all net job growth in the United States. High growth companies contributed largely to this growth, underscoring the fact that entrepreneurship drives job creation.

In Asia, where populations are high, and unemployment a major challenge in many countries, job creation is a top government priority. High growth companies are most needed here. For example, Abellon CleanEnergy, a sustainable energy company based in India, will convert 10,000 hectares of degraded earth into agricultural land, and engage and train farmers to grow crops to be harvested and converted into fuel.This project will create about 25,000 jobs over the next five years, and produce clean and affordable energy to power 100,000 homes in India.We need more of such high growth, high impact companies.

The second pillar seeks to enable “entrepreneurship at the Bottom of the Pyramid” to alleviate poverty and create new markets. While Asia is experiencing an explosion of growth, more than one quarter of the people in the Asia-Pacific region still live in poverty [1]. Almost one billion people are living on less than USD$1.25 per day. Achieving the objectives of this pillar remains a phenomenal task.

But if we can raise more geniuses like Professor Muhammad Yunus, we can move aggressively to alleviate poverty through entrepreneurship. Professor Yunus’ Grameen Bank, founded in 1976, has become legendary in its use of microfinancing for community development in Bangladesh. The bank makes small loans to the poor and marginalised, without requiring collateral, to help them start micro-enterprises. By 2008, Grameen Bank had loaned over USD$8.7 billion to help 8 million poor people make a living, while still turning in a profit. Professor Yunus and his organisation were awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

The third pillar aims to shape entrepreneurial cities.An entrepreneurial city is marked by the constant flow of innovative ideas and entrepreneurial activities, where innovation and enterprise are key driving forces of economic strategy.Silicon Valley is today’s iconic entrepreneurial city. In Asia, many cities are replicating the Valley model. Asian governments are committing resources to develop and nurture entrepreneurship. There is much entrepreneurial buzz in cities like Mumbai, Jakarta, Beijing and Seoul.

For the past decade, Singapore has strived hard to build an entrepreneurial nation.The Action Community for Entrepreneurship (or ACE) was set up as a private-public sector partnership to drive this vision. One of our early foci was to create a pro-enterprise environment and cut red tape to make it easier for entrepreneurs to start and grow their business.

ACE has since effected close to 1,000 changes to government rules, and channelled resources to educate entrepreneurs, support startups, enhance incubators, and promote VC and angel financing.We are gratified that these efforts have led to the World Bank recognising Singapore as the easiest place to do business and a city with increasing entrepreneurial buzz.

Entrepreneurship development is incomplete without education to raise entrepreneurs.Entrepreneurial education is the Forum’s fourth pillar, and it seeks to equip aspiring entrepreneurs with relevant skill-sets and expertise. Education reinforces a robust entrepreneurial culture and provides the necessary know-how to maximise the potential of budding entrepreneurs. Singapore has adopted a “learning by doing” approach for entrepreneurship education.Apart from formal lessons,students also learn entrepreneurship through the real-life experiences of inspiring entrepreneurs at talks and workshops, internships with start-ups, crafting of business plans based on their innovative ideas, and in some cases, from actually starting and runninginnovative businesses.

Thinking Global, Building International Connections

Besides the four pillars of discussion, I would add the importance for entrepreneurship to take a global market perspective.One key characteristic of great, entrepreneurial companies is that they take on a global market perspective, scouting the world for business opportunities and resources to forge ahead. I therefore encourage entrepreneurs here to take a global perspective and target the global market. The network you build here would be valuable resources to bring your ideas across boundaries to make a global impact.ACE is proud to be part of this network, and will continue to build linkages with you.

We are truly privileged that so many established entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs, policy makers and experts will be sharing their thoughts on the various topics in this Forum. I believe all of us have much to learn from their insights and experience and will benefit greatly from them. Collectively, we can build a better world through entrepreneurship. I wish you a fruitful Forum. Thank you.

[1] United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asian and the Pacific, Statistical Yearbook 2011, Poverty defined as those living on less than PPP$1.25 per day. (2011)