Singapore SME Innovation Support Schemes - PRO INNO Europe

5 Good Practices & Transferability
The IPF has a focus on learning from best practice in SME innovation support. In the discussion
of good practices below we focus on those practices which could be implemented
by innovation agencies and which focus on SMEs and entrepreneurs. In particular
two of the topics covered by the study visit, namely the focus on youth entrepreneurship
and the EnterpriseOne approach to service delivery are considered as good practices
and discussed further below.
The A*Star research institutes and Exploit are not further discussed in terms of good
practices below. Although these are a hugely important part of the innovation system in
Singapore their detailed study is beyond the scope of this report, which is focuses on
learning for innovation agencies. There are potentially many good practices in the
A*Star approach as they demonstrate a very strong focus on working closely with industry.
In particular the commercialisation activities of Exploit goes beyond the traditional
technology transfer activities and could be compared to the commercialisation programmes
run by many innovation agencies, however clearly it is very context specific,
dealing, as it does with the commercialisation of the output from the very large, state
funded research institute system.
5.1 Integrated Approach to Youth Entrepreneurship
The approach to the support of Youth Entrepreneurship in Singapore is found to be a
good practice. The good practice is more the integrated approach adopted, which attempts
to address not only the funding sources but also the educational and awareness
raising. A recent study on the barriers to youth entrepreneurship ii concluded that the
barriers include Social and cultural attitudes, lack of entrepreneurship education, access
to finance, administrative and regulatory frameworks and lack of business assistance
and support. The approach in Singapore seems to address most of these barriers, with a
national effort aimed at awareness raising and promoting entrepreneurship among the
youth, supported by education programmes, and special youth start-up funding
schemes. It seems to have been an important part of the learning process in Singapore
that any approach has to be comprehensive and address not just one aspect, such as
funding, but also the aspects related to stimulation of entrepreneurship and development
of ideas through education, learning by doing, mentorship, etc.
The YES Schools programme funded by SPRING is open to all schools from primary
schools up so that the cultural attitude to entrepreneurship can be addressed at a very
early stage in education. Another good practice is the emphasis on the “learn by doing”
as part of the selection courses. This learning by doing aspect of the education has been
highlighted as being particularly important iv . The dedicated funding scheme for young
entrepreneur’s start-ups is also a good practice, as it supports the education element to
be turned into dedicated funding, which according to SPRING still maintains an educational
mindset in terms of expectations from the programme.
The focus on Youth Entrepreneurship is obviously important for Singapore, because as
small country it needs to maximise the sources for successful start-ups and growth
companies. Internationally the promotion of youth entrepreneurship is recognised as
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