Entrepreneurship is good for economic growth and educational institutions should play a more prominent role acting as catalysts for developing entrepreneurial drive in young people. This was the consensus of a workshop session on youth and entrepreneurship, which took place during the 6th World Chambers Congress in Kuala Lumpur this month.
Kevin Smith, Chairman, Young Chamber, UK told workshop participants that generally employers are not satisfied with numeracy and literacy levels of new recruits. Likewise, Graham Hanlon, 2008 Junior Chamber International President said that the current education system in Ireland lacks entrepreneurial activities and that millions of dollars are spent educating and training school leavers.
Andrea Tomat, President and CEO, Lotto Sport Italia and President, ICC Italy called for entrepreneurship to be promoted at university level, underscoring that many innovative products were the result of university research. Mr Tomat stated that successful entrepreneurs were motivated, resilient and were accepting of setbacks. “Initial setbacks are not a good reason to abandon initiatives,” he said.
Speaking on entrepreneurial activities in Pakistan, Mian Waqad Masud, Chairman of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry Youth Committee, identified bureaucracy and discrimination as major constraints for entrepreneurship that existed both in Pakistan and other countries.
Earlier in the day a Congress workshop took place focusing on strategies to advance women in business. Irene Natividad, President, Global Summit of Woman said the increasing tide of women entrepreneurs worldwide could hasten economic recovery. “Governments and corporations need to start looking at woman not as economically vulnerable but as economically viable,” she said.
Beatrice Booth, President, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Queensland, told participants that despite the success of women-owned businesses, women representation on boards of large companies had slipped. “There is no doubt that we need to educate women to be more forceful, and break down the barriers to success,” she said.
President of the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce Selima Ahmad and President of the Eurochambers Women Network Sophia Economacos also took part in the workshop which aimed to help the World Chambers Federation identify what it could do to help women in business.
Business leaders also shared strategies for success in a workshop on transformational leadership.
Seelan Singham, Managing Partner, Malaysia McKinsey & Company who chaired the session told participants that recession leads to significant reshuffling of leadership and would lead to the emergence of new leaders. “Don’t waste a good crisis,” he cautioned.
“Vulnerability is a virtue,” said Idris Jala, CEO of Malaysian Airlines who told participants to ask themselves what new business values they can get from the crisis that they would not otherwise get.
“Everyone has the potential to lead,” said Kimble Chen, Chairman, Energy Transportation Group, USA. However he concluded: “Leaders must have ethics and not be solely motivated by money. Good leaders have fundamental traits that include a passion for business and a desire to work as part of an organization that does good things in good ways.”
The 6th World Chambers Congress comprised over 20 workshops addressing the key challenges faced by businesses today. Organized by the ICC World Chambers Federation, and hosted by the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers, the Congress brought together close to 1,000 participants from over 100 countries. For more information please visit:
www.kl2009.com