Clearly, Singapore is a great place to learn about building a vibrant entrepreneurship ecosystem. Since 1965, when Singapore separated from Malaysia, the country has managed to turn its small territory into one of the world’s most prosperous and entrepreneurial places.

The National University of Singapore is actively engaged in promoting entrepreneurship, and NUS Enterprise serves as the official Host of Global Entrepreneurship Week in the country in conjunction with Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE). Although I was only able to witness a few, throughout this Week they conducted dozens of effective events at engaging young people.  For example, Entrepreneurs Unplugged gave its audience a chance to get up-close and personal with top-notch successful entrepreneurs from the local scene. Led by a young entrepreneur and featuring a dynamic duo each in a different stage of their start-up experience, this event offered a thought-provoking and entertaining way to live the life of an entrepreneur vicariously. There was also the nEbO Challenge, Leave Only Ur Design -  L.O.U.D – which provided a platform for aspiring entrepreneurs from Temasek Junior College to battle it out in a competition of creativity, management and budgeting of their business idea through scrapbook-making.

And then there was Dividends, which taught students how to navigate the financial market by using an interactive board game about stocks, shares, dividends and profits.

I also decided to drop by and see Ms. Ng Hau Yee running one of the Junior Achievement activities – the JA Titan of Industry which provides practical information about business and the economics of life.  I found a room full of computers and teams of kids trying to run virtual companies and competing in a computer simulated business environment. While I was there, some teams has run their business into the ground while some achieved what I am told was the highest scores ever seen based on the quarterly business decisions they made about product price, production level, marketing, R&D, charitable giving and more. Sink or swim, the kids walked away better understanding critical business practices and the effect management decisions have on a company’s success.  I did not stay for the crowning of the Titan of industry but I would have put my money on one 16 year old who confidently told me he was there as part of a gradual sharpening his entrepreneurial skills in long-term preparation for becoming a real entrepreneur in medical innovation once he got past his PhD.

The Closing Ceremony I spoke at tonight brought together many of the important leaders and organizations that make Global Entrepreneurship Week in Singapore happen.  At the event we handed out awards to the winners of the Global Entrepreneurship Week Global Innovation Tournament winners after viewing their video submissions.  We also heard music from an entrepreneurial Viola player who is building on his string quartet’s international fame by starting additional string quartets with very young talented players from the music school.  This event showed how much emphasis the country places now on innovation and entrepreneurship education. I learned at that dinner that the Singapore government even offers start-up capital up to $50,000 to qualified citizens and up to $300,000 for a social venture.

Clearly rock star street wear entrepreneur Elim Chew, honored at the dinner who runs Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE) and the Social Innovation Park has been pivotal in advancing entrepreneurship in the country.   Singapore can boast having smart people at the top of it’s hyper effective entrepreneurial support organizations including Tan Kai Hoe at Spring Singapore, Kelly Teoh at the Spirit of Enterprise program and Dr. Lily Chan and Prof Wong Poh Kam at NUS Enterprise.  My favorite title for the night though went to Adeline Tan at Singapore Management University’s Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IEE) whose card simply says “Evangelist”!

Among others I met earlier today was Koh Hock Tee from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) which is a research-intensive university ranked among the world’s top 100 universities. It offers one of Asia’s best science and technology learning environments, as well as world-class entrepreneurship education. Doing so, NTU has been making significant contributions to the nation’s renewed drive for research and innovation.

NTU was recently designated the first Kauffman Campus outside the United States. Five U.S. students have received a Kauffman Foundation grant to study commercialization and entrepreneurship at the university’s Technopreneurship Center. The scholars will learn how to build a startup business based on technology transfer on a global scale.

With an efficient business environment that is well maintained, Singapore has long benefited from a vibrant entrepreneurial economy. Singapore is a world leader in most facets of economic freedom , and is the world’s top economy in “ease of doing business” for the fourth consecutive year. It takes just three days to formally launch a business here and if you decide to export, you can get products on the international market in just five days. This contrasts with the East Asia and the Pacific’s regional average of 41 days to register a new business and 23 days to export.

Considering the strength of its physical and institutional infrastructures, it is no wonder that Singapore is among Southeast Asia’s top hi-tech countries and busiest ports. Real GDP growth averaged 7% between 2004 and 2007, but dropped to 1.1% in 2008 as a result of the global financial crisis. Prime Minister Lee and other senior officials are now searching for ways to make the economy more resilient, and they’re looking to innovation. The government has attracted major investments in pharmaceuticals and medical technology production and will continue efforts to establish Singapore as Southeast Asia’s financial and high-tech hub.  Although the Ministry of Trade and Industry revised up the inflation forecast possibly signaling the central bank to tighten fiscal policy, Permanent Secretary Ravi Menon estimated this week the Singapore economy will re-bound, expanding by as a much as 5% next year.

Global Entrepreneurship Week in Singapore is ensuring that the nation has no shortage of entrepreneurs to drive that growth.