SINGAPORE (Aug 19): Days after a survey by the World Economic Forum suggests that scarcely any youthful Singaporean wants to be an entrepreneur, another study seems to suggest otherwise.
A new survey by UK start-up builder Entrepreneur First found that one in two young Singaporeans say they are likely to set up their own company. This is mostly aligned to the youth in the UK, France and Germany, but far behind India, which saw 81.7% of its youth interested in entrepreneurship.
This comes after the World Economic Forum released a survey that puts only 17% of Singaporean youth express entrepreneurial ambition. The survey, which examined the youths attitudes to jobs and skills in Southeast Asia - says two-thirds of youths here have no plans to work overseas as well.
The EF survey was conducted in six markets - Singapore, UK, Germany, France, Hong Kong and India - on individuals between the age of 18 and 30. It aims to gauge young people’s motivation for entrepreneurship.
According to EF, Singapore respondents ranked entrepreneurs as the top profession associated with talent and ambition. Close to the top of the list include careers in venture capital and the healthcare sector.
In Singapore, nearly half the respondents felt start-ups have a better chance to “change the world for the better” compared to large companies or the government. The survey suggests that one-in-six Singaporeans wants to create something that can change the world for the better. In contrast, only 14.2% of them want to be a millionaire or billionaire.
However, the survey notes that majority of respondents are risk averse. Concerns over financial losses and a lack of stability remain top hurdles that will hold them back.
EF runs programmes in Singapore. Many of its start-ups are backed by SGInnovate, the successor of Infocomm Investments, the investment unit of Infocomm Development Authority.
