2011 News

• New ASME chief to focus on skills development to help businesses
  The new head of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME) hopes to work with the Singapore Workforce Development Agency and SPRING Singapore to establish an academy which will educate aspiring entrepreneurs in cash-flow management and expansion planning. With 6,500 companies as members, ASME is Singapore’s biggest business lobby group.

• Startups should seek out business angels:  NUS Entrepreneurship Centre director
  Prof Wong Poh Kam, director of NUS Entrepreneurship Centre and a faculty of NUS Business School, observed that difficulty in finding investors and the reluctance of the banks in granting loans are the main challenges facing startups in securing capital for their businesses. He advised these startups to consider experienced angel investors who would be able to offer useful feedback on their business model and strategy as well as help broaden their network.

• Seeking to create entrepreneurship, ecology
  Entrepreneurship is not just an ideal focused on innovations nor is it an activity only younger Singaporeans should be encouraged to participate in – these are some of the misperceptions that Teo Ser Luck, the newly-appointed Minister of State for Trade and Industry, would like to correct. He expressed his wish to create a culture and the environment here where Singaporeans of all ages are open to entrepreneurship.

• Starting Young – She makes dream weddings easier
  26-year-old SMU’s business graduate Jeslyn Ang plunged into self-employment to start her own business. She started online portal Wedding Tweets. After giving up the security of a full-time salaried job in marketing and consumer research for the more fluid business of financial planning, she admitted that launching her own business was less of a leap.
  
  
• Starting Young - Health foodies mixing it up
  Brother-sister duo who successfully run two salad shops in SMU are eyeing the prospect of launching their franchise in five years.  2010 SMU LKCSB graduate Jocelyn Chan shared her concept, business model and experience of setting up and operating two outlets on SMU campus with her brother, Joseph Chan. The outlets serve healthy fast food - mainly pasta and rice salads- to SMU students and staff, as well as executives working in the vicinity.
  
  
• GushCloud.com won 3rd place on the "Founder Showcase Pitch Competition" in Los Angeles
  Gushcloud launched about 3 weeks ago and we've been adding 1 user every 2 minutes with about 13,000 users to date. $60,000 of campaigns have also been posted on  gushcloud.com  from clients like Maybank, Swatch, Singtel, Starhub and Toshiba.
  
  
• New business survey to measure innovation, green practices in companies
  Innovation, green practices and entrepreneurial potential - these are three areas central to a region-wide business survey launched for Channel NewsAsia's Luminary Awards.
  
  
• CNA Launches Business Benchmarking System
  Channel News-Asia has launched a regional benchmarking system that will allow businesses to measure themselves against other similar trades. Developed in partnership with Deloine Analytics, GreenA Consultants and the Singapore Management University (SMU).
  
  
• Diving Into the New Innovation Landscape
  An article written by SMU President, Prof Arnoud De Meyer

• Local Universities Say Foreign Students Pull Up Standards
  NUS, NTU and SMU stressed that the admissions criteria for overseas students are very stringent to ensure that only high-quality ones are admitted.  Their presence can benefit Singaporeans and in the case of SMU, they contribute to the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural character of the university.  Illustrating Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s point that the bonds formed between local and foreign students can lead to economic benefits is social media start-up Socialico, which was set up by a Singaporean and Indonesian pair of friends after they graduated from SMU.
  
  
• SMU Incubated Company Receives Funding From Strategic Investor.