In 1977, Rosabeth Kanter published her book, Men and Women of the Corporation, introducing the concept of “tokenism” as she covered women’s general negative experiences working ‘non-traditionally female’ jobs and, particularly, their inability to achieve equality in the workplace, despite their capabilities due to their attributed token status, i.e. their low proportion in a workplace dominated by men. Over the years, the term has expanded to also incorporate workplace policies with voluntary or mandated quotas, especially towards minority groups and/or women, in ways that will not change (gender or ethnic) […]
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State of Malay-Muslim Entrepreneurship in Singapore
Ever since the founding of modern Singapore, Malay-Muslim (MM) entrepreneurs have continued to play a key part in the writing of the nation’s story. The combination of Indian-Muslim and Arab traders who entered the region in the search of new markets, together with the existing local Malays, saw the birth of a dynamic entrepreneurship ecosystem, that has continued to exist till today.
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The Realities of Starting A Tech Company
Startups employ more than 300,000 people in Singapore across 42,000 companies in 2013, up from 24,000 companies in 2005[1]. These numbers have probably increased substantially since. As a nation, we have produced 15 of the 35 unicorns[2] in the region, including Razer and Sea[3]. Additionally, around 80 of the world’s top 100 tech companies have a significant presence in Singapore[4]. But what does it take to actually start one of these?
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COVID-19 Lessons Learned: Business Owners Edition
NEW WORLD, NEW RISK
The year 2020 saw a tremendous shift in the business world and almost every industry across the globe was affected. While businesses often expect to be affected by waves of economic recession, part of the challenge this time is the fact that the pandemic has lasted much longer than what many businesses are normally used to in an economic crisis. Businesses were at the point of decimation, with many ending up shutting their doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Malay/Muslim Businesses in FinTech
SINGAPORE’S FINTECH JOURNEY
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) stated that “FinTech is transforming financial services in a way not seen before. Big Data has the biggest potential in the transformation of financial services.”1 MAS has started to analyse and combine large data sets to gain richer insights into customer behaviour and needs, identify fraud or anomalies in financial transactions, and sharpen surveillance of market trends and emerging risks.
Advancing Entrepreneurship: The Role of Malay/Muslim Institutions
Contrary to what is generally believed, institutional efforts to develop Malay/Muslim entrepreneurship is not a recent phenomenon, buoyed by the current national fervour of promoting and incentivising innovation and value creation, as evidenced by the schemes rolled out by SPRING Singapore, IE Singapore, National Research Foundation and Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA).
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The Leathersmiths with Maketh Project & Forest Child
Leathercrafting is one of the oldest craft in human history, beginning in the prehistoric practice of using animal hides for clothing and shelter, before progressing into haulage items such as rucksacks and waterskins. Today, the techniques for the treatment and preservation of hides have become more sophisticated and the craft itself has served a wide variety of purposes: as sword scabbards, belts, straps and fittings for armour pieces, holsters, to name a few.
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Haji Hashim Bin Haji Abdullah: A Household Name Adapting to Changing Times
During our primary school days, my brother and I bought not only our Malay language and religious books but also soccer apparels such as boots and jerseys from Haji Hashim Enterprise. Haji Hashim Enterprise used to be located at Geylang Serai and had branches at Onan Road and Arab Street. The store at Geylang Serai was later moved to Joo Chiat Complex while the Onan Road outlet was closed.
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The State of Entrepreneurship in the Community
Stereotyping is one of the biggest problems related to the issue of Malay-Muslim businesses and entrepreneurship in Singapore. We have all heard the common stereotyping of the Malay-Muslim businessman or businesswoman repeated ad naseaum – that they are lepak (laidback), fatalistic, satisfied with what is sufficient with no desire to explore the full extent of business opportunities; that they lack an entrepreneurial spirit, and are always embroiled in petty jealousies, rivalries and hasad (destructive envy).
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