[21 January 2009]
SMU launches new Business Mentorship programme

The Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at SMU partners Entrepreneurs' Organisation, tapping on their resource of experienced business mentors

Singapore, 21 January 2009 – The Singapore Management University (SMU) launched today a new Business Mentorship Programme where established entrepreneurs and business leaders will be invited to play the role of mentors and invest capital in young start-ups who wish to be housed in SMU's business incubator. In return for their investment and mentorship, business mentors will be rewarded with start-up equity of the company, the amount corresponding to the type of contributions and the duration of their commitment to the start-up.

The Business Mentorship Programme is a new requirement for start-ups who want to qualify for business incubation space in SMU. The other requirement being that the start-ups have to qualify for one of the government or SMU funding schemes currently available such as the National Research Foundation's Proof-of-Concept grant scheme, SPRING Singapore's Young Entrepreneurs Scheme for Startups and Media Development Authority's IDM Jump-start And Mentor initiative. Please see Annex for details.

In a Memorandum of Understanding signed today, the Business Mentorship Programme will tap on the large pool of successful entrepreneurs who are members of the Entrepreneurs' Organisation – a global community of more than 7,000 business leaders across 40 countries worldwide of which about 40 members belong to the Singapore chapter. SMU and the Entrepreneurs' Organisation will also jointly organise monthly networking sessions for SMU undergraduates and members of Entrepreneurs' Organisation, and hold a yearly Entrepreneurs' Bootcamp on campus.

Start-up companies who wish to qualify for incubation space in SMU should comprise a combination of staff, faculty or students of the SMU. They can also bring onboard partners from other tertiary institutions. Young entrepreneurs from the wider external community such as small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and individual researchers – who are not associated with any educational institutions – are also welcome to apply for incubation space in SMU. They will first need to qualify as Research Affiliates of SMU by coming under the umbrella of one of the available government or SMU funding schemes for start-ups. All applications will be processed by the Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, a centre set up in SMU to grow the innovation and entrepreneurship culture in the University by helping innovators commercialise their ideas.

Tapping on the network of the Entrepreneurs' Organisation, SMU is aiming to recruit and form a substantial pool of business mentors to participate in the Business Mentorship Programme. Business mentors will be invited to contribute to their assigned start-ups one or more of the following five areas: Business Strategy, Fundraising, Recruitment of Management Team, Acquiring Early Adopters, and Planning of Growth Strategy. Business mentors will also be required to invest capital in the start-ups as a way to motivate them to create real value for the start-ups which they are advising. Kicking off the partnership with the Entrepreneurs' Organisation, a speed dating session was organised today for SMU start-ups to share their ideas with prospective business mentors.

Said Practice Professor Arcot Desai Narasimhalu, Director of the Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at SMU: “We are pleased to renew the relationship between SMU and the Entrepreneurs' Organisation, and extend it beyond networking to getting experienced entrepreneurs on campus to be mentors and play a more involved role in getting start-ups off the ground. This will be of tremendous benefit to our budding entrepreneurs.”

Said Mr Nicklaus D'Cruz, Chapter President of Entrepreneurs' Organisation (Singapore): “The partnership with SMU is very much in line with the mission of the Entrepreneurs' Organisation to grow businesses through peer-to-peer learning and sharing. There are many young upstarts with promising ideas but a lack of mentoring from more experienced business leaders. This new connection will pave the way for the transfer of knowledge and expertise from established entrepreneurs with already successful businesses to the university campus.”

There are currently two different incubators available and located in SMU – the SMU Business Innovations Generator (BIG) and the Athena Innobator. SMU BIG is the University's first incubation laboratory and seed funding initiative while Athena Innobator is a joint incubation programme between SMU, Nanyang Polytechnic and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts to develop Interactive Digital Media prototypes.

Interested start-ups can contact Ms Adeline Tan from the Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at SMU at DID: +65 6828 0655, email: adelinetan [at] smu.edu.sg ( ) or visit the website www.smu.edu.sg/institutes/iie for more details on application procedures.

About the Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at SMU

The Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE) at SMU has been set up to nurture and grow the innovation and entrepreneurial culture amongst students, staff and faculty of SMU through collaboration with the community. IIE is committed to help innovators commercialise their ideas and aspires to build high quality and robust start ups within SMU and the larger community through research, strategy, training, R&D, business incubation and knowledge sharing. IIE will play the role of a strategic innovation partner, working closely with SMEs, large enterprises, early stage venture capitalists, academic institutions and individual researchers. IIE's vision is to become a leading research and practice center for innovation and entrepreneurship in the region.

About the Entrepreneurs' Organisation

The Entrepreneurs' Organisation (EO) – for entrepreneurs only – is a dynamic, global network of more than 7,000 business owners in 38 countries. Founded in 1987 by a group of young entrepreneurs, EO is the catalyst that enables entrepreneurs to learn and grow from each other, leading to greater business success and an enriched personal life. The Singapore Chapter has 36 members. The vision of EO is to build the world's most influential community of entrepreneurs and the mission is to engage leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow. To be a member of EO, you need to (a) be the founder, co-founder, owner or controlling shareholder of a company; (b) hold one of the above titles for a company that grosses more than US$1 million annually; (c) join before age 50; and (d) for venture-backed companies to qualify for membership they must have privately raised funds of US$2 million or publically raised funds of US$5 million, and 10 full-time employees. Venture backed companies have three years before they must meet the standard qualification of US$1 million in gross annual revenue.