Asia's agents of change

Home to about 45 percent of the world’s population, Asia is set to capitalize on its entrepreneurial spirit to fuel regional growth despite hurdles.

"Policies alone will not change the fate of any community, country or region," said Fong Chan Onn, chairman of Enterprise Asia and former Malaysian minister of human resources, in his keynote speech at the Asia Entrepreneurship Forum held in Macao on Sept 20.

"It is the entrepreneurs who must act as agents of change in determining the progress of Asia today and in the future."

The Asia Entrepreneurship Forum is an annual event organized by Enterprise Asia, a Malaysia-based NGO. It brings together government leaders, CEOs and academia to discuss the role of entrepreneurship to drive regional development and address pressing socio-economic issues, especially the region's widening wealth gap.

In Asia, the income share of the richest households has boomed over the last decade, with 20 percent of total income concentrated in the hands of the wealthiest 5 percent in the region, according to the Asian Development Bank.

"Essentially, entrepreneurship has the potential to reduce poverty," added Fong, saying entrepreneurship brings tremendous employment and training opportunities to the underprivileged. In India, micro, small and medium-sized businesses contributed to 9 percent of the country's GDP and hired 60 million people in 26 million enterprises in 2009, according to official data.

A recent report by the Royal Bank of Canada and consulting firm Capgemini highlights the fact that entrepreneurship remains a major wealth driver in Asia, accounting for more than half the wealth owned by the region.

Nevertheless, the entrepreneurial spirit continues to be weak in some emerging nations, most notably, India.

A Gallup poll in August found a mere 16 percent of Indians reporting owning a business, although nearly 60 percent of the population possessed the personality critical for a successful entrepreneur — such as business thinking, optimism and persistence. Yet the majority’s unwillingness to risk failure hobbled the creation of small enterprises in the nation.

Furthermore, not all entrepreneurships are conducive to economic miracles, said Kenny Goh, who co-founded MACROKIOSK, a mobile technology company which provides mobile messaging and billing platform to clients such as Facebook and AirAsia, a leading low-cost carrier in the region.

The key lies in the difference between an "opportunity entrepreneur" and a "necessity entrepreneur".

"Entrepreneurship comes with roles and responsibilities," Goh told China Daily Asia Weekly on the sidelines of the forum. "But there are way too many necessity entrepreneurs who just want to make a fortune and replicate things following the trend."

The 34-year-old thinks what Asia really needs are opportunity entrepreneurs, who stay hungry for growth and venture into underexploited areas to create new jobs.

"If everyone wants to be the boss, who will be the doer? We need opportunity entrepreneurs to make things happen in Asia," Goh added.

Looking ahead, experts agreed the key for entrepreneurs to thrive is to ride out the global economic cycles and take advantage of Asia's investment climate.

"Entrepreneurs are all innovators, creative, team players and risk takers. It is through the hard work of these individuals that a country is led out of the economic turmoil," said Sarath Amunugama, senior minister at Sri Lanka's ministry of finance and planning.

While the eurozone is headed for a second dip, Asia will not be immune to a worldwide recession. Yet its resilient growth will continue to outpace the rest of the world and create a buffer for entrepreneurs. "For the next 10 years to come, Asia will contribute to 58 percent of global growth and 5.8 percent for entire Europe," said Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for emerging markets with Banco Bibao Vizcaya Argentina.

Japan's post-earthquake rebound will help to compensate the region's exports to Europe, Garcia-Herrero added. Easing inflation and China's steady growth, hovering at around 8 percent annually, will continue to bolster the region's prospects.