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3 in 4 Singaporean millennials aim to become their own boss

SINGAPORE — Nearly three quarters of millennials surveyed in Singapore plan to be entrepreneurs within the next 10 years, and more than 30 per cent started their current business while in school, according to research released yesterday by website host company GoDaddy.

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SINGAPORE — Nearly three quarters of millennials surveyed in Singapore plan to be entrepreneurs within the next 10 years, and more than 30 per cent started their current business while in school, according to research released yesterday by website host company GoDaddy.

Fuelled by technology that has made entrepreneurship easier than ever and a strong desire for autonomy, 74 per cent of millennials surveyed in Singapore indicated plans to either create their own business or be self-employed within a decade, far exceeding the 50 per cent figure for millennials globally.

“Entrepreneurship is one of the core tenets of Singapore’s economy,” said Mr Roger Chen, vice-president of Asia, GoDaddy. “We believe that the results from this survey illustrate the direction of entrepreneurship in Singapore. Millennials today are more open to considering entrepreneurship as a viable career, and we hope that our insights can help them in identifying the right tools and trends that can help take their businesses to greater success.”

The survey, which was commissioned by GoDaddy and conducted by Morar Consulting and Vrge Analytics, polled 7,291 professionals in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Singapore, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. About 500 respondents from Singapore were polled.

The findings also show that millennials in Singapore are becoming entrepreneurial at a much younger age, with 32 per cent saying they started their current business while they were still studying. This makes them 16 times more likely to pursue entrepreneurship as a career than their Gen X counterparts were while still pursuing their studies in the 1980s and ’90s.

Some of the driving forces behind this growing decision to pursue entrepreneurship is the adoption of technology: 91 per cent of respondents in Singapore found technology made starting a business easier, while 45 per cent preferred the “do-it-yourself” model for handling their tech needs, signifying ease of use. Another driving force is the ability to work autonomously. Flexibility emerged as the top driver for Singaporeans wanting to become an entrepreneur, with 35 per cent of respondents indicating so, trumping money (24 per cent) and not having to worry about corporate layoffs (15 per cent) by a wide margin.

The survey also found some common challenges entrepreneurs face, including a lack of financial capital, expertise in specific topics, resources and financing, and human capital. As such, 57 per cent of Singapore respondents said the Government needs do more to promote entrepreneurship, through the provision of more programmes or an increase in funding. Additionally, 57 per cent of entrepreneurs here believe the Government should make changes to laws and regulations relating to the sharing economy.

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