<i>Max Loh, EY Singapore’s managing partner, is optimistic that there will be a steady pipeline of entrepreneurs. He believes the current downturn is a perfect time for entrepreneurs to transform and adapt to changing markets</i>

SINGAPORE (Oct 14): In a dialogue on Sept 4 with students from the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong encouraged them to be more willing to try their hand at running their own businesses.

He acknowledged that not everyone would succeed and pointed out that people should not be ashamed if they failed. “It is not easy to do a start-up. You have to get everything together, you have to do everything yourself and, at the end, you may have the best idea in the world, [but] it may turn out not to fly. And then you just have to say ‘sorry, it didn’t work, I will try again’… I don’t think there’s any stigma, any shame attached to it, even in Singapore,” said Lee.

According to Max Loh, EY’s Singapore managing partner, this push by the government for a more vibrant entrepreneurial culture and climate did not start with the dialogue at SUSS. EY, a professional services firm that is running the EY Entrepreneur of The Year (EOY) awards for the 18th time this year, has been doing its part in promoting entrepreneurship, he says.

The theme for this year’s EOY is “Unstoppable — innovate, disrupt, transform”. Five entrepreneurs from different industries were named category winners. These individuals had the entrepreneurial drive to seize opportunities, tap new capabilities and capture a bigger share of the market or even create a new market.

They are Ron Tan, executive chairman and group CEO of Cityneon Holdings, who was named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year — Media and Entertainment; Ng Gim Choo, founder and managing director of EtonHouse International Education Group, named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year — Education; David (Hyonmoo) Lee, CEO of -IYUNO Media Group, named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year — Digital Media Supply Chain; Kong Wan Sing, founder and CEO of JustCo, named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year — Workspace Solutions; and Yeah Hiang Nam, managing director and CEO of ValueMax Group, named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year — Financial Services.

Loh says the category winners represent “a good mix”. “We will see more and more of such a mix, which I think is healthy. At the end of the day, new companies will emerge and new winners will come and disrupt existing businesses. At the same time, it is not easy to say the ones that have been successful will continue to be so. As long as they advance, build new things, they will continue to be successful,” says Loh.

Entrepreneurship is not something that comes naturally to many younger Singaporeans. For at least two generations, Singaporeans were brought up to study hard, earn the necessary academic qualifications and be competent employees for government-linked companies and MNCs that had been attracted to set up shop here because of the city state’s transparency, rule of law and strategic location. As long as Singapore could maintain the status quo, such high-paying jobs would always be created and would be an attractive career path.

Loh, however, calls for homegrown companies, driven by entrepreneurs and their innovative capabilities, to provide a balance. “We want to create as many Singapore companies as possible that look at the world as their oyster, and can help build up Singapore Inc as a brand, from where we can push further along. To me, that’s the single most exciting opportunity,” says Loh.

He believes Singapore companies can make better use of digital technology to overcome physical limitations and demographic challenges. “You cannot have that level of growth when you have these limitations. Now, with the internet and technology that enables you to transcend borders, [you can] be a hub and reach other markets in the world. That’s really exciting and really beneficial to us,” says Loh.

He is optimistic that there will be a steady pipeline of entrepreneurs. “Entrepreneurship is definitely something that is here to stay. In this world of disruption, there are just lots more opportunities for entrepreneurs with the right ideas to commercialise them by starting their own businesses and making them work. And the ecosystem supports entrepreneurship,” he says.

Singapore has nurtured a vibrant start-up scene. Many companies, especially those in fintech, have been set up here. “Will they all be successful? No. But out of this entire population, we should be able to identify future winners and the whole ecosystem must support them. I am quite confident that many young people have the ideas and the passion. Then, it is up to the rest of the ecosystem to support them,” says Loh.

What he means is that having the right idea is not enough. For an idea to become a successful business, there has to be support from the ecosystem in the form of financing and delivery of the new products and services to the market. The support is not just from investors and venture capitalists but also the government and professional advisers such as EY. “Many [entrepreneurs] have great ideas, but they don’t have the financial and business know-how to commercialise them. That’s the evergreen challenge we have to deal with,” Loh says.

Over the past couple of years, the discussion and emphasis on sustainability has intensified. Businesses all around the world are starting to put sustainability at the top of their agendas. However, is the emphasis on sustainability for all companies? Many entrepreneurs running their own small and medium-sized enterprises face the harsh realities of growing their business and making sure cash flow remains positive. From Loh’s perspective, however, sustainability is for everyone. “We all have a footprint in this world, we all have many stakeholders,” he says.

Loh points out that the definition of sustainability goes beyond just caring for the environment. For entrepreneurs, sustainability means keeping their business going beyond their generation. “How do you drive a sustainable family business beyond your lifetime and the next generation. This whole concept of sustainability fits into that model,” he says.

Loh also notes that the Singapore Exchange has mandated that companies listed here have to do sustainability reporting. Some companies, especially the bigger ones, have jumped in with enthusiasm, detailing the kind of initiatives they have introduced, ranging from energy consumption to corporate social responsibility programmes. Others, typically the smaller companies, struggle to come up with something substantial to report.

The disparity is not lost on observers such as Loh, whose firm has been providing advice to clients on how to carry out sustainability reporting. “It has to be on everyone’s agenda,” he says.

EY Singapore is one of the dozen founding “sponsors” for the Asean operations of the Global Reporting Initiative. GRI’s Asean regional hub was launched in Singapore recently. GRI is a Netherlands-based entity that helps organisations around the world better organise and communicate data on sustainability and governance to stakeholders.

“It is not just to your shareholders but also your people. They are all very, very into [environmental, social and governance factors]. It is also to the broader stakeholder system. Many young people don’t want to work for organisations that are not green or that do not have sustainable practices. And I think it is right. This is not something you can just avoid. You have to deal with it,” Loh says.

He is aware that many companies do not relish taking on the additional responsibilities related to sustainability as the worldwide economy goes into a downturn. “We are going through economic challenges and we have to go through a lot more transformation and restructuring. You need to not only transform the business model but also the people. And that’s a huge focus; obviously in Singapore, the only resources we have are our human resources,” he says.

The reality is that such transformation can never happen overnight. “When the economy is doing well, you have no time to train; when the economy is not doing so well, you have no money to train. So, the best time is when the economy is not doing so well and you are not so busy. Maybe [you should] take some time off to train, transform and upskill, to prepare for when the economy faces an upturn — that’s the challenge,” he says.

The process of transformation is not easy either. The world is changing so rapidly that businesses and their staff need to transform the way they think and act. For entrepreneurs who want to survive and thrive, they need adaptability — and the willingness to implement changes. “You can’t sit still,” says Loh.

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