Entrepreneurial Culture And Capability

Key Recommendations

Ø    Evolve new social values which celebrate entrepreneurship and risk-taking by promoting a culture that accepts diversity and failure, and embraces a broad notion of success.

Ø      Develop entrepreneurship programmes at all education levels.

Ø     Attract Global Entrepreneurial Executives (GEEs) to Singapore by ensuring flexibility in our employment pass system, and engaging various associations to help them settle in Singapore.

Ø     To designate a Minister (or Minister of State) to be responsible for promoting and driving initiatives for a more entrepreneurial Singapore.

1. Entrepreneurial Culture

2. Entrepreneurial Talent

Entrepreneurial Culture     [ top]

There is a need to inculcate an entrepreneurial culture in which Singaporeans want to be entrepreneurs.  This involves reaching out to the young in our school system, and must continue through to the tertiary institutions and extend even to entrepreneurship programmes for the adult workforce.

Society must uphold successful entrepreneurs as role models rather than resent them for their affluence.  It must be forgiving towards those who try and fail, and not humiliate them or dampen their ability to start afresh.  Ultimately, the way to promote enterprise and creativity is through less government intervention. 

Entrepreneurial Talent     [ top]

Given the finite size of our talent pool, and the long time lag for promoting a more entrepreneurial culture among Singaporeans, we must tap entrepreneurial talent from abroad.  To do so, we need to tailor incentive programmes that appeal to the individual.  This would include:

a.      Having sufficient flexibility in our employment pass system to allow Global Entrepreneurial Executives (GEEs) to come to Singapore without a well-paid job or a specific opportunity and facilitating the entry of their close family members;

b. Having EDB, together with the relevant agencies, establish a comprehensive programme to attract entrepreneurs to Singapore and develop and increase the number of foreign incubation centres in Singapore; and

c.      Engaging various non-government associations to help GEEs settle in Singapore.

In addition, to increase our chances of developing entrepreneurial capability in industry, there is a need to ensure that the private sector is not crowded out of the local talent pool and deprived of its fair share of talent.