Dora Hoan, president of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME) in Singapore, is a driven woman. Taking over the mantle of leadership of the 15-year-old self-help organisation in November last year, Hoan and her executive council is aiming to double the membership to 800 by June.
Although ASME membership had stagnated at about 400 for some time, the target is achievable considering that there are an estimated 92,000 SMEs in Singapore. "I think we can achieve it if everybody plays his part," says Hoan, who has adopted as her theme, "The Drive for Entrepreneurship".
"The target is not unachievable if more efforts are made to attract business people into the association. Most of them would join any membership-based organisation if they saw a value proposition for them, both personally and for their businesses," says Simon Beh, an ASME member and head of the State of Mississippi office in Singapore. "If ASME can address their needs as a professionally managed association, I do not think they need a lot of convincing to sign up as members."
ASME members come from a variety of industries and the body provides a platform for "cross-industry, cross-trade and cross-profession exchanges," says Beh. "Networking with this diversified group of business people makes me more aware of the challenges and successes of their respective industries. If business people and executives do not network outside their trade, industry or profession, they can restrict their growth potential since they could be 'industry-blind' - very much like a frog in a well."
VS Kumar, managing director of Network Express Courier Services and also a member of ASME, says the body serves a useful role for entrepreneurs to get together and network with their peers. It is also "a platform for government bodies in disseminating vital information and assistance to SMEs", he says.
Hoan has made a commitment as ASME president "to serve SMEs by promoting their establishment and development, nurturing them into significant enterprises so that they can contribute to the economy".
One of her goals is to inaugurate an SME Branding Award as she thinks that for SMEs to go global, they must have good brands. "We have to support local brands, educate people to love their country and their own brands. Only with strong branding can local SMEs go overseas," says Hoan, who is also CEO of Best World International, a cosmetics company she co-founded that is expanding its presence in the region as a distributor of health supplements and cosmetics products. Her vision is to make Best World a famous Asian brand by 2008. "That's in my mission statement," she says.
Brand equity is important, says Jocelyn Chng, managing director of Sin Hwa Dee Foodstuff Industries. "Without branding, you cannot go far," says the food entrepreneur, who took over the family's sauce-making business in 1989 and has since developed a strong brand - Chng Kee's, named after her father - for her food products. Chng was one of nine finalists in the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Another of Hoan's planned projects is the SME Advisory Program, whereby a panel of professionals and consultants will offer advice and strategies to help SMEs bridge the IT gap and cross over into the knowledge-based economy.
The current bad economic times could be good for SMEs, Hoan says. Her advice is for enterprises to take this time to review and restructure their businesses. "Some companies may not survive. But if your company or product is good, you have to analyse your strengths and weaknesses, restructure and then reposition your business," she says.
Apart from Hoan, another driving force behind the ASME is Ma Seen Soon, who is a member of its executive council. Ma is also chairman of the ASME Institute of Entrepreneurship Development (Insend), a training vehicle to enhance SME competence and competitiveness, and is its adjunct professor. He says this is the first such institute among SME associations around the world.
Insend, set up last year, offers diploma and degree courses including the Vancouver University MBA program. It has about 120 full- and part-time students, about two-thirds of whom are from China with the rest from Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. With a startup cost of about S$200,000 (US$108,000), Insend interestingly has been earning revenue for ASME with its expanding student enrolment.
Ma notes the interest in Insend's courses among the students, especially those from China in the wake of the country's growing economic prominence. He says: "Students [from China] in the past often asked, 'can I migrate to Canada or US?' Now they don't talk about that, not even about migrating to Singapore. They talk about studying and going back to China to capitalise on the opportunities there. In the past, they sought greener pastures elsewhere, now they don't: The opportunities are at home."
China needs 300,000 MBAs in the next five to 10 years, says Ma, quoting estimates from the China Academy of Science and Research on the basis that every Chinese enterprise would need to have one MBA in order to be competitive. And China can only train 5,000 to 6,000 MBAs a year, says Ma, who is also CEO of Enterprise Innovation Consultants, an SME consultancy.
After a long career in insurance during which he had done practically everything including underwriting, marketing, claims, reinsurance and life insurance, and having worked in companies with different structures including MNCs, local enterprises and family businesses, Ma felt he could use his knowledge and experience in helping business people. He set up his consultancy in 1995, which was also when he completed his MBA specialising in innovation and entrepreneurship. Since then, he has worked with SMEs and family businesses in the region including Indonesia and China.
ASME was born in 1986 amid recession in Singapore, bringing together entrepreneurs of various industries and service sectors to exchange and share their experiences and aspirations. It has won recognition for its role as a champion of SMEs and has initiated programs to recognise and motivate outstanding business people including the Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the Netrepreneur of the Year Award.
Association of Small and Medium Enterprises
141 Market Street #04-03/04
International Factors Building
Singapore 048944
Tel: (65) 224-0868
www.asme.org.sg