NOV 2018 FEATURE:

For NEXT-GEN furniture/furnishings business owners in the region, the ASEAN Youth Furniture Exchange could not have been a better platform to meet fellow entrepreneurs in the industry.

Held in Singapore for the second time since 2015, the number of participants has more than doubled. As Asia’s hub influencing tomorrow’s urban living, AYFE 2018 aims to be a well-regarded event where digital evolution and businesses converge, where conversations and collaborations take place, and where stronger digital capabilities and business opportunities amongst the ASEAN young business leaders are being built.

About 88 representatives from seven ASEAN countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Philippines had attended the 2.5-day programme which started on 31 October.

Highlights included a masterclass on e-Commerce to learn from experienced practitioners, learning journeys to e-Commerce marketplace, warehouses and logistics providers, courtesy of Singtel, Y-3, XTRA, Finaq and SIMTech.

The opening ceremony at the IBM Singapore headquarters on 1 November was graced by Dr Mohamad Maliki bin Osman, Senior Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs, after meeting delegates at a special closed door session.

Participants of the AYFE opening event were given insights on digitisation and how it can help SMEs transform to meet the demands of the changing business landscape and drive growth. Featured panelists include Mr Joshua Koh, CEO of Commune Lifestyle, Mr Wee Zi Huan (Zwee), Founder & CEO of Savant Degrees, and Mr Khoo Peng Han, Business Development – Government Sector of IBM Singapore, with Mr Jake Tan, Chairman of AYFE as the moderator.

At the Official Opening, SFIC also launched its Youth Furniture Chapter (formerly known as Youth Furniture Committee), with the goal of nurturing  more resourceful and resilient generation of new and young leaders in the Singapore furniture industry.

Mr Mark Yong, SFIC’s President said, “Organisations of all sizes are now focusing on succession planning to ensure continuity and growth. With the YFC, we can identify and put together an agenda to train and mentor the right people to step into leadership positions. The YFC allows us to put in place a formal structure to groom our NEXT- Gen leaders to drive sustainable growth over the long term.”

The YFC, headed by Mr Jake Tan (also SFIC Vice President) has its roots in 1999 when it began as a small committee as part of a leadership succession plan to steer the future growth of the Council. It has since grown to about 100 NEXT-Gen entrepreneurs in the group and SFIC is targeting to double this number by next year.

Launching the YFC at the AYFE-cum-Digital Forum is apt as the AYFE aims to build an Intra-ASEAN business network and partnerships among the region’s NEXT-Gen furniture entrepreneurs. Closer collaboration will give these furniture players a leg-up to seize the wealth of growth opportunities in ASEAN which is expected to become the 4th largest economy the world in 2030.

YFC Chairman, Mr Jake Tan said, “SFIC and AYFE will facilitate participation of Singapore companies in furniture and furnishings-related projects in ASEAN and other parts of Asia such as China and the overall global markets. SFIC will also work with other relevant public sector and private sector organisations to support Singapore furniture players in their continuous efforts to build a more vibrant and diverse innovation ecosystem in Singapore and the region. We will also help provide a good platform for furniture entrepreneurs – especially the younger generation to come together, exchange ideas and testbed and apply relevant technologies to commercialise and grow their product and service offerings.”

A number of exciting activities will be planned to help Singapore’s young furniture entrepreneurs gain more knowledge of running multi-generational companies and adopt best practices in managing human capital as well as leveraging innovation to sharpen competitiveness in the face of global uncertainties.

One of these activities is the Business Model Transformation Overseas Mission which is scheduled for the third quarter of 2019. The mission will study successful multi-generational companies focusing on two key aspects: Business Model Transformation (BMT) and Human Capital (HC).

Hot on the heels to expand the business network beyond ASEAN, more than 30 ASEAN youth leaders headed to Dongguan, China from 6-9 November 2018 to further extend the regional network with its counterparts in Asia.

With the AYFE serving as a compass to guide the regional industry towards greater growth and development, Singapore aims to lead the pack once again.

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