Singapore Millennials' entrepreneurial spirit is now being driven more by personal development than personal wealth and family expectations, departing from the previous generations and other Asian markets.
According to HSBC's latest report, Singapore millennial entrepreneurs are seeing motivation from cultivating and nurturing personal aspirations when embarking on business pursuits. This is in contrast to the older generations of Singapore entrepreneurs who usually set their eyes on wealth achievements.
The HSBC study noted that the greatest encouragement for Singapore millennials is pursuing their passion, 38 percent of them say so. Meanwhile, 35 percent took inspiration on their personal development. In contrast, 71 percent of older generations saw developing personal wealth as their key motivator.
HSBC Private Banking Head of South East Asia Sandeep Sharma said the findings for Singapore Millennials was also slightly at odds with those in regional peers. Overall, 45 percent of millennials in the Asia Pacific region said they ventured into business to increase their personal wealth. In Singapore, only 35 percent said so.
"Entrepreneurs are strong economic catalysts and important sources of innovation in any market. But being successful requires tenacity and passion which are needed especially when the going gets inevitably tough. The findings show that Singaporean Millennials have these ingredients which should lead to greater creativity and innovation as they pursue their project," Sharma noted.
Interestingly, the survey also found out that Singaporeans are putting themselves first before their family.
The report pointed out that only 29 percent of Singaporean millennials have the desire to succeed for their family, 10 percentage points behind the global average of 39%. This also ranks behind the average for the whole region of Asia Pacific.
Sharma stated that the next decade will see wealth generation to increasingly be led by millennials, especially as technological advances open new commercial frontiers,
"However, as these entrepreneurial businesses take off, it is crucial that millennials take a different approach to achieving personal wealth. Invariably, passion and instinct is what built the business, and there is a natural tendency to reinvest funds back into it. However, to sustain and grow your wealth requires you to decouple your investment strategy from your business strategy," Sharma concluded.
