As part of the V3 Group Professorship in Family Entrepreneurship initiative, a five-day Family Entrepreneurship Programme (FEP) was conducted by BFI@SMU in October. Established in 2018, the SMU V3 Group Professorship in Family Entrepreneurship (“Professorship”) aims to support thought leadership and programmes on family entrepreneurship.
The inaugural BFI@SMU Family Entrepreneurship Programme was organised to equip participants with critical tools, frameworks, and knowledge to undertake the challenges of family entrepreneurship. Topics covered included innovation, business model transformation, succession and talent development, family governance, and strategies for investment and wealth preservation. Invitation was open to family principals and their family members only. Assistant Professor Kenneth Goh, Interim Academic Director of BFI said, “In designing a programme to address the most relevant issues faced by business families, BFI aims to support the community of business family owners and the next generation family members in scaling their business and impact”.
This year’s FEP was designed to address key challenges in a dynamic business environment, exacerbated by disruptions caused by the pandemic. Specifically, it explored and examined these challenges: How can families sustain their entrepreneurial spirit across generations? How can next-gen members manage family issues even before they are successors? How can they know what to invest in, and whom to invest with?
The sessions were led by Singapore Management University(SMU)’s Asst Prof Kenneth Goh, Assoc Prof Tan Hwee Hoon, Assoc Prof Liang Hao, Prof David Lee (Singapore University of Social Sciences), Ms Chan Ee Lin (Deloitte Private), Ms Serena Wong (Kamet Capital Partners) and Ms Yak Chauwei (Gao Capital). Participants were impressed by the sessions and received important takeaways from the complementary panel discussions with business family leaders from Sunseap Group, PlanetSpark, BP de Silva Group, Luxasia Group, Dawood Foundation, Kamet Capital, Doctor Anywhere and Goldbell Corporation, as well as SMU Professor Emeritus Annie Koh.
The closing session was graced by Mr Ron Sim, Founder, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of V3 Group Limited.
Reviews received from participants:
Sabrina Chong, Head of Corporate Development, Luxasia Pte Ltd said, “The programme was insightful and touched on all the key issues pertinent to family-owned businesses, with candid sharing by business owners and next generation leaders. Well worth the time spent!”
Aqeel Hanif Nomanbhoy, Director, Nomanbhoy & Sons Pte Ltd said, “The SMU BFI course was truly insightful and a great learning experience. There was so much knowledge to be learnt. The instructors were excellent and extremely engaging. It was also a great opportunity to meet peers from similar family business backgrounds as well. I will definitely attend more courses organised by SMU BFI.”
Michelle Kartokusumo of PT. Ban Tjiang and a SMU postgraduate student said, “The family entrepreneurship programme challenges us to deep dive into identifying the core of key successes of managing entrepreneurship across all generations. Discussions led by the panels and speakers has helped me to discover invaluable insights, which has given me guidance and confidence to move forward in building a sustainable family enterprise. It has been such an enjoyable five days of workshop that was enlightening, engaging and informative, kudos to the team of BFI@SMU.”