Good morning

It is my great pleasure to be here at the launch of the third Phoenix Award.

You and I stand today in a Brave New World. Things that held in the past are being challenged. While uncertainty is now, more than ever, the order of the day, more new possibilities are also emerging. For the wider economy, Singapore is undergoing a remaking. At the company level, many enterprises are in the process of restructuring and upgrading. For many individuals, the task of having to retrain and learn new skills, or adapt to unfamiliar environments, is very real. What does one do at the crossroads of change?

I think here, you simply have to ask yourself, who do you admire more – the men and women who do nothing in the face of adversity or those who face this squarely? The timid men, the lazy men or the over-civilised men who shrink from the great challenges of the day are not admired but pitied. It is the men who strive against the odds to achieve a better life for himself, his family and his country that we admire the most. In doing this, he will have more than his fair share of failures. Failure is hard but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.

This is the spirit of the Phoenix Awards – the grit to weather difficult times and emerge successfully and stronger than before. This is also the essence of our distinctive Singaporean character. As a nation, we are admired precisely because we have that tenacity of character that has seen us bounce back stronger than before from unexpected setbacks.

In the 1960s, when Singapore stood alone without Malaysia, the future looked bleak and threatening. In the 1970s, there was the oil crisis. Then the economic recession struck in the mid-80s. The Asian crisis dampened the 90s growth path. Throughout those periods, Singapore made it through successfully, winning against all odds,

Today, we face even greater demands of a different nature. We have grown. Our standard of living is amongst the world’s highest. No stranger to top global rankings, we have a fierce pride and passion for excellence. For a small nation, to be ordinary is not an option. We have to be, as we are now – exceptional. The question is whether a new generation of Singaporeans will have the drive, the passion and tenacity to secure Singapore’s future in a turbulent age of great discontinuity?

Our die-hard entrepreneurs give us confidence that this will be so. Winners of the past Phoenix Awards for instance are distinguished by their refusal to succumb in the face of tough times, but instead overcame the obstacles to succeed. They changed, and reviewed their circumstances and the way they were doing their business. They put in place new things, and put away old ways that seemed not to work like before. All these require courage, strength and commitment. In short, winners don’t give up.

The previous winners of the Phoenix Award exemplify this spirit of never-say-die. Mr Yong Voon Fee, the winner in the inaugural year 2000, lost his entire savings after a startup in Silicon Valley folded. He came back to Singapore and set up the Internet company Bexcom. In four years, he built it into a world leader in e-commerce solutions.

Last year’s Phoenix Award winner, Mr V S Kumar, came from a humble family and started out as a despatch rider. He set up a courier business with a few partners but the venture did not take off. He persevered, set up his own company and became the first homegrown courier company to incorporate IT into its operations. His company also provides IT training services to organisations.

The recommendations of the ERC Sub-committee on Entrepreneurship and Internationalization (EISC) were released last Friday. From our recommendations, we highlighted six Cs – Culture, Capabilities, Conditions, Connections, Capital and Catalysts. The Phoenix Award is all about the very first C: Culture, a culture of accepting that failure is a necessary step on the road to success. The challenge is to foster a culture where people dare to be different, dare to go it alone and dare to risk failure as the price of future success.

Indeed, you could say that if you have the right culture, the other Cs fall more easily and naturally into place. The Phoenix Award is about changing the mindset of prejudice against failure. And judging from anecdotal evidence, it is fair to say that the award has gained much ground in achieving its aims. People are aware of the award and what it is trying to do. The winners, far from shying away from publicity, have become role models in their own right. Entrepreneurs now are proud to be known as Phoenixes.

It should be worn like a badge of honour – to have tried, failed and tried again till the summit is reached. Our Everest hero, Khoo Swee Chiow, has a simple piece of advice for those who wish to emulate him:

"Build experiences and never be afraid to fail but at the same time, try not repeating the same mistake."

We need a continual injection of this spirit in our economy. Strong entrepreneurship and constant innovation are key drivers of further economic growth. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) researchers report that one-third of the differential in national economic growth rates is due to the impact of entrepreneurial activity (1999). We have already made some headway in this area. Singapore is recognised today as one of the fastest-growing countries in promoting R&D and innovation outside the US, according to the Council of Competitiveness Report, 2001. At home, a poll reported by The Straits Times in July showed that 42% of Singaporeans in the 15-35 age range indicated an interest to run their own business.

We need to harness the entrepreneurial spirit to succeed. This hallmark of entrepreneurial determination and passion will carve out new roads of success and growth for us. This is also the same essence that embodies the Phoenix Award, and because of this, we would like to honour the fine men and women who exemplify this spirit.

To spread the spirit of the Phoenix, a new mentoring programme will be launched today. Several mentors have volunteered their time, including successful entrepreneurs, Phoenix Award winners and finalists in previous years. They will coach and guide up-and-coming entrepreneurs. Mentors and mentees will be matched from similar industry backgrounds. And this is part of the culture that we need – not selfishly guarding knowledge but sharing experience with others so that the whole environment becomes more conducive and supportive. I applaud the mentors for giving of their time and energy, and envy the mentees for being given the opportunity to learn from the experts. I am sure that more Phoenix mentors will emerge after this year’s Award.

I would also like to thank and commend the Phoenix Award Committee members who have all worked very hard to bring the award to its successful third year. The award sponsors have also given generously and their contributions have made a difference.

It has been said that both tears and sweat taste the same – salty. But tears will only get you at best sympathy, but sweat will get you change.

On that note, I am very happy to launch the Phoenix Award 2002, and invite all Singaporeans to nominate deserving entrepreneurs for us to recognise their entrepreneurial efforts.

Thank you.

_______________