Parliament affirms amended WP motion on the future of S’pore’s economy

“But what we can always do is maintain a place where every person has a fair chance to try, a pathway to progress, and support to recover from setbacks.”

The Government will play its part by maintaining a trusted, open economy, investing for the long term, addressing gaps in capability, financing and market access, and helping workers prepare for change, he said.

But others have to play their part as well, he added, saying businesses must transform and invest in people, workers must keep learning, and entrepreneurs must build, compete, persevere and accept responsibility.

Recounting his own entrepreneurial journey, Tan, who is a doctor by training, said he had founded Healthway Medical Group along with a few other doctors at 27, with no formal business training, and had to learn the ropes on the job.

The company managed to find a niche by providing corporate healthcare services in HDB and industrial estates, and got a breakthrough when MNCs in Singapore became its earliest clients, he added.

Meeting the demanding standards of these established global companies allowed his company to build a track record and win the confidence of subsequent customers, he said.

Rather than crowding his firm out, Tan said the MNCs actually enabled it to grow.

Drawing from his experience, he said he learnt that the Government must build the runway, but entrepreneurs and workers have to run on it and take off.

The Government can maintain sound institutions, open markets, clear rules, and also reduce avoidable friction, and share selected risks where there is a wider economic benefit, he noted.

But it cannot find the customers, build the business team, make commercial decisions, or persevere on the entrepreneur’s behalf.

“Government support should be a springboard for enterprise. It cannot become the business model,” he said.

“Governments cannot and do not create champions by simply writing larger cheques.”

Tan said Enterprise Singapore’s Scale-Up programme – designed to groom fast-growing local companies into global champions – helps firms build capabilities.

The 80 companies in the programme’s first seven cohorts generated a combined $2.5 billion in additional revenue within three years, and $1 billion came from overseas expansion, he added.

Tan outlined how government policies can help bridge five gaps that entrepreneurs and companies face: from aspiration to a first venture, research to innovation and enterprise, product to first customer, early traction to sustained scale, and a strong base to global scale.

For instance, programmes like Startup SG Founder, which provides start-up capital, mentorship and networking opportunities, provide structured early-stage support so serious ideas have a fair chance to be tested.

There are also programmes like the Partnerships for Capability Transformation scheme, which facilitates partnerships between local firms and MNCs, so that SMEs can participate in MNC supply chains.

When companies are ready to scale up, there is also the Startup SG Equity scheme to catalyse private investment in early and growth-stage deep-tech companies.

But not everyone will start a company, and most Singaporeans will experience the economy through work, Tan said.

“That does not make their stake in Singapore’s success any less direct or lasting. A good job provides income today. But it should also enable a person to build skills, experience and confidence over time,” he said.

Addressing concerns over job disruption, Tan, who was previously manpower minister, acknowledged that job loss raises fears about income and whether one’s experience will still count, among other things.

“These concerns are real. We should not answer them merely by pointing to aggregate statistics or the number of courses available,” he said.

He added that support for workers must begin earlier, and that is why the Economic Strategy Review has proposed “career bridges” linking workers in at-risk roles to more resilient occupations through training, guidance and job matching.

Wrapping up, he said Singapore’s success has never been guaranteed, and each generation has had to build it by staying open, learning faster, taking calculated risks and pulling together when circumstances were difficult.

“The next chapter will demand that same spirit,” he said.

“It will be powered by all fellow Singaporeans who can build, who can lead, who can own, innovate, adapt and grow. That is how we secure the best future for Singapore, and that is how we will ensure that Singapore’s future economy truly works for all Singaporeans.”