Mr Teo Ser Luck at the Shell LiveWIRE Awards 2011, 18 Nov 2011

SPEECH BY TEO SER LUCK, MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRYAT THE SHELL LIVEWIRE AWARDS 2011 ON FRIDAY, 18 NOVEMBER 2011, 2.45PM AT ITE COLLEGE EAST

Mr Bruce Poh,

Director & Chief Executive Officer, ITE

Ms Mavis Kuek, General Manager, External Affairs & Communications, Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Introduction

Good afternoon. It is my pleasure to join you for the Shell LiveWIRE Awards 2011. I am indeed glad to be part of this inspiring and noble initiative that encourages the spirit of entrepreneurship among our youths. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Shell Group of Companies for celebrating its 120 years in Singapore this year.

Shell LiveWIRE Award and Global Entrepreneurship Week

This year, the Shell LiveWIRE Awards has been organised as part of the Global Entrepreneurship Week, or GEW, series of activities. The GEW is a global initiative that aims to inspire youths to embrace innovation and creativity in entrepreneurship. The Shell LiveWIRE Programme, which encourages young people to look at starting their own business as a viable career option, reaches out to the same target group with complementary aims similar to GEW. This is a commendable partnership. I am pleased to note that since its launch in 2001, the Shell LiveWIRE Programme has benefitted 139 award recipients.

At the launch of the GEW this year, many young entrepreneurs showcased their business ideas, with help from SPRING Singapore. The vibrancy in youth entrepreneurship can also be seen in the number of applicants for SPRING Singapore’s Young Entrepreneurs Scheme for start-ups. The number of applicants reached 180 as at October this year, a 50% increaseover last year[1]. This growth also mirrors the overall increase in start-ups in Singapore, from about 15,000 per year in the 1980s to about 50,000 in 2009. This translates to 103 businesses for every 10,000 Singaporeans.

Entrepreneurs are getting younger too. According to a DP Information survey on start-ups which polled 2,000 respondents, two-thirds are below 40 years old[2]. The government’s efforts to encourage entrepreneurship in partnership with the private sector are evidently bearing fruit.

Innovation and Creativity in Youth Entrepreneurship

In business, innovation and creativity are critical factors that differentiate a product or service from its competitors. And it often opens the way to new or expanding markets. In this respect, I am heartened to see much innovative and creative spark among this year’s LiveWIRE Award finalists.

An example worth highlighting is James Pinto’s new start-up company - Vortics Communications. Vortics Communications innovatively uses info-communications technology to provide a system for Work Safety and Health, targeted at the construction, manufacturing and shipbuilding industries. Observing the growing demand for an interactive incident management and reporting system, and leveraging on the benefits of cloud computing with the rising capability of tablet devices, James and his team developed their flagship product, VortPort, to capitalise on the business opportunity.

The finalists in the new LiveSPARK Category, which recognises students for their enterprising spirit, have likewise produced good examples of innovation and creativity in their business ideas.

Serene Tan and her fellow students from Temasek Polytechnic developed GlydeSafe – an innovative walking frame that requires minimal effort to use. This was to address the growing needs of our aging population. They observed how existing walking frames posed challenges for the aged and weak when they tried to lift themselves up to take a next step. A simple solution that came to mind was a retractable set of rollers which helps users glide the frame safely as they walked along. The idea was developed into working prototypes that were tested by the target users. Creating the rollers as an add-on accessory to existing walking frames, rather than redesigning walking frames, is another clear example of entrepreneurial mindset at work, as it allows the innovation to quickly enter the target market.

Innovation and creativity shown by the Shell LiveWIRE Award participants signals a re-assuring trend that our next generation of entrepreneurs are geared up in the right direction for the new economy. Coupled with the various government schemes to support such start-ups, I am confident that the Singapore entrepreneurial environment will have a bright future.

New business licensing system

Singapore has developed a favourable environment for entrepreneurs to start and build their ventures. Key to this is a pro-enterprise regulatory environment where red tape is minimised. Through channels such as the Pro-Enterprise Panel, we have heard some of the issues you have encountered with doing business in Singapore. We are constantly looking at how we can improve our processes.

One such effort is the upcoming replacement of the Online Business Licensing Service, or OBLS for short.Businesses want to get the licensing done with minimum hassle and get down to the business of doing business.As part of the Government’s continuing efforts to foster a more pro-enterprise environment in Singapore, we will be building a new system to bring together more than 250 licences for application online. This is more than three times the number available on the current OBLS. Eighteen licensing agencies are working closely together to improve collaboration and better integrate their licensing processes. Through a single, fully integrated system, agencies will have a consolidated view and understanding of businesses’ licence-related interactions with the Government, and be able to serve businesses better.

For example, to start a restaurant, a business owner may need to apply for a “Liquor Licence” from the Singapore Police Force (SPF). However, before SPF can approve the application, it will need to know if the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has granted the application for the premises to be converted, say from a furniture shop to a restaurant. With the new system, both SPF and URA will have real time information of the company’s consolidated applications and approvals. This will shave off administrative time and bring about greater convenience and a better customer experience to businesses.

The new online service will therefore reduce the number of touch points a business needs with various Government agencies. It will also help businesses meet their regulatory obligations in a simple and convenient way.

Conclusion

In closing, I would like to recognise the efforts of Shell LiveWIRE partners – namely, ITE, Shell Group of Companies, ITE Alumni Association and Singapore Press Holdings, in making Shell LiveWIRE a possibility.

Before I conclude, let me add a word of encouragement to all the young Award participants here today. Youth is the prime time in life for starting a business. As author Pearl S. Buckput it, “The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible — and achieve it, generation after generation.”On this note, let me wish you all a rewarding entrepreneurship journey. Thank you.

[1] GEW News http://www.unleashingideas.org/blog/singapore-gets-early-jump-gew-2011

[2] SPRING News Nov 2011 http://www.spring.gov.sg/Resources/Documents/SPRINGnews/FV_Nov11/flipviewerxpress.html pg 4