In a recent World Bank study, Singapore topped 174 economies to become the world's most business-friendly economy. The World Competitiveness Yearbook 2007 noted that we have overtaken Hong Kong to come in second, following closely behind the United States.

In the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEMS) 2006, Singapore was ranked first among 22 countries for start-ups with more than 75% of their business overseas.

Our island nation has also -- for three years running - been voted the most intellectual property-protective country in Asia by the Political and Economic Research Consultancy or PERC. More good news about the state of enterprise here. Many local SMEs have prospered over the past five years and some 200 have been listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

With such a positive entrepreneurial environment in Singapore, it is not surprising that there are more than 133,000 SMEs, who employ over half the total workforce and contribute over 40% of the gross domestic product.

Creating an entrepreneurial environment
Singapore's pro-business landscape is the result of dedicated joint efforts by government agencies, business chambers, industry associations and other private organisations.

EnterpriseOne is a case in point. An integrated support network for start-ups and SMEs, it is managed by SPRING Singapore and strongly supported by some 35 partner agencies from the public and private sectors. It comprises

a) An online portal and hotline for easy access to all business-related government information and services.
b) In addition, it has a network of Enterprise Development Centres (EDCs) located at business chambers and associations which offer business advisory and consultancy services.

In 2006, the EnterpriseOne portal attracted more than 440,000 unique visitors, while the hotline and EDCs assisted another 17,000 SMEs.

The Action Community for Entrepreneurship has reached out to more than 32,000 entrepreneurs and youths, and spearheaded the development of innovative programmes to address the specific needs of entrepreneurs.

The Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE) is another fine example of effective collaboration with far-reaching results. Launched in 2003, it is a national movement involving the private and public sectors to foster innovation and enterprise in Singapore.

To date, it has reached out to more than 32,000 entrepreneurs and youths, and spearheaded the development of innovative programmes to address the specific needs of entrepreneurs.

For instance, the loan securitisation scheme, which ACE helped to develop, enables SMEs with little collateral to tap the capital market to raise funds. The scheme’s success has encouraged other financial institutions to offer similar securitised loans to SMEs.

With the growing focus on entrepreneurship, most major banks and financial institutions in Singapore have set up an SME enterprise financing unit as part of their core business. This change is reflected in the 2005 and 2006 SME Development Survey results which show that access to financing is no longer the major concern of SMEs in Singapore.

Pivotal role of SPRING in advancing entrepreneurship
The outlook for SMEs is positive. Furthermore, the Government has earmarked $3.9 billion for the period from 2006 to 2010 to help local enterprises grow their business. Those keen to sharpen their competitive edge to expand locally and/or venture abroad can tap SPRING's resources.

SPRING Chairman Mr Philip Yeo is upbeat about grooming the SME and entrepreneurship sector: He said: "SPRING aims to be the enterprise development agency for Singapore-based SMEs. SPRING will nurture SMEs into Singapore-based MNCs and graduate them over to EDB."

As the "one-stop shop" for SMEs, SPRING provides the network and resources to help them find the right kind of financing, enhance management expertise, gain access to new markets and acquire new technologies to innovate and expand.

Technology Innovation Programme was launched recently by SPRING to help SMEs by defraying the costs of technology projects, providing technical experts to strengthen in-house capabilities and establishing technology centres to meet their needs.

One key initiative that SPRING launched recently is the Technology Innovation Programme. It helps SMEs by defraying the costs of technology projects, providing technical experts to strengthen in-house capabilities and establishing technology centres to meet their needs.

Another critical step the agency took was to work with local universities to offer SMEs customised postgraduate and executive development courses under the Management Development Programme.

Urging SMEs to leverage on these platforms of support, Mr Loh Khum Yean, SPRING's Chief Executive, said: "The quality of 'people' or 'management' drives the sustainable growth of any enterprise. Our SMEs need to upgrade their talent management capacities, and as well as their management skills, to propel their businesses to the next level of growth".

"Technology offers many possibilities for our SMEs to innovate their products and processes, reaping benefits in the form of cost reduction and market growth."

Keen to see more SMEs take flight, Mr Inderjit Singh, Deputy Chairman of ACE, advised: "Successful entrepreneurs can emerge in any environment, and our environment makes it easier, so seize the opportunities early!"

In celebration of enterprise in Singapore, successful entrepreneurs from different walks of life share their tales of tough times and triumph in the following pages: