ENTREPRENEUR SPECIAL... WHAT AN IDEA

 WHAT AN IDEA 

The world will need more entrepreneurs than ever to turn 21^st century challenges into opportunities.

    Recession, global economic slowdown and now the Eurozone crisis have established an element of uncertainty in the air. A regular job is no longer the answer to one’s career apprehensions, but the beginning. With pink slips and pay cuts becoming 21^st century realities, the world is in need of ideas, innovations, creative solutions and fresh perspectives that can cater to the changing market demands, emerging economies and a new world order.
    So what is the solution? How can one create more jobs? How can it be ensured that the jobs are socially, economically and environmentally sustainable? Entrepreneurship is the
answer, feel academics, industry leaders and global thinkers across the world. As Tugrul Atamer, vice-president, EMLYON Business School, France, points out, “In the next half century, with the world facing challenges and discontinuities, we will, more than ever, need entrepreneurs in all domains. Only entrepreneurs can turn these challenges into opportunities and bring about change that will take us into a more sustainable and equitable era by 2050.”
    The times may be uncertain, but opportunities are ample, feels Melissa Kushner, founder of ‘goods for good,’ who works with orphans in Malawi, Africa. In essence, ‘goods for good’ aims to meet the immediate needs of children and builds businesses with community centres to sustain orphan care. “For our generation, it is a wake up call, which says that the banks may not always be at the top of the world. The challenge is to think creatively. Our generation is not only looking at different ways to get employed and earn money, but also to make the world a better, safer and stable place. The ownership is on us.”
    Steven Fang, group CEO of Cordlife and deputy chairman of ACE, Singapore, agrees to say that the resurgence of entrepreneurship has been in the making for a long time. Considering the
way in which the business world and the market place have evolved in the last 20/30 years, he strongly believes that the rate of change has been pushed along with the development of new technologies like internet, biotech, etc. The pace of change for these markets has been so fast that the products and services that are being designed and built by big companies are catering to yesterday’s needs.
    “Therefore, you would require companies that are flexible and responsive to today’s market needs. That is a gap that can be filled in by future entrepreneurs. A start-up company, as we assume, will be more flexible and in tune with what the market needs are,” he says.
    While entrepreneurship is the future roadmap, an entrepreneurial ecosystem is the platform for successful implementation of innovations and ideas. In fact, drawing a parallel with the bioeco system, Lily Chan, CEO, NUS Enterprise, National University of Singapore (NUS), says that certain concepts in biological ecosystems translate well to the business world. For instance, Chan stresses that similar to ecology, a business must find its niche in order to survive. Also, she adds that creating a network of entrepreneurs — virtually or through geographical clusters — is one of the key elements of an effective ecosystem.
    The world seems to be having similar kind of problems. So reiterating the need to facilitate a culture of entrepreneurship among communities, Inderjit Singh, chairman, Enterprise Committee; board member, NTU (Nanyang Technological University) and member of Parliament, Singapore, says that if we can all come together, we may be
    able to build an ecosystem, which is conducive to entrepreneurship.
    As part of a favourable ecosystem, it is also imperative to focus on entrepreneurship education. While fresh approaches need to be taken into account and an entrepreneurial mindset needs to be promoted, Sarah Green, cofounder of EMPACT, a social enterprise, is of the opinion that higher education needs to adapt to new practices such as co-learning and mentoring.
    While a new breed of young entrepreneurs are ready to take on the world, Kushner has a word of advice for them: “There will be a lot of ups and downs. While the highs are the best highs one can have, the lows are the worst lows that one can be victims of. Overcome those lows, because if there were no lows there would be no highs. So don’t give up. If your first idea doesn’t work, try another. Seek the advice of your contemporaries, people who are a bit ahead of you as well as people who are a bit behind you. Learn from each other and support each other.”
(The speakers were participants at the recently-held World Entrepreneurship Forum 2012 in Lyon, France)

Tirna Ray edut 121210