A new report from HSBC Private Bank claims that Singapore millennials entrepreneurial spirit is being driven more by personal development than personal wealth and family expectations.

HSBC’s second Essence of Enterprise report, researched the views of more than 4,000 entrepreneurs globally, including 263 from Singapore, to understand the motivations behind setting up their own businesses.

Singaporean millennial entrepreneurs are more motivated to cultivate and nurture personal aspirations when embarking on business pursuits compared with older generations of Singaporeans who focus squarely on wealth generation

Old Money

The study found the greatest motivation for Singaporean millennials was following their passion (38 percent) and personal development (35 percent).

This was in stark contrast to older generations, those over 50, of Singaporean entrepreneurs who overwhelmingly (71 percent surveyed) saw developing personal wealth as their key motivator.

The findings for Singapore millennials was also slightly at odds with their regional peers with 45 percent of millennials in Asia Pacific conceding they went into business to increase personal wealth compared to 35 percent of Singaporean millennials.

«Being successful requires tenacity and passion which are needed especially when the going gets inevitably tough. The findings show that Singaporean millennials have these ingredients which should lead to greater creativity and innovation as they pursue their projects,» said Sandeep Sharma, Head of South East Asia, HSBC Private Banking. 

Decouple Your Investment Strategy

The survey also found Singaporean millennials are putting self before family, more so than previous generations and generational peers from other markets.

According to the report 29 percent of Singaporean millennials stated a desire to succeed for their family which is 10 percentage points behind the global average of 39 percent. This ranks behind the average for Asia Pacific of 37 percent and Mainland China at 32 percent.

«In the next decade, especially as technological advances open new commercial frontiers, we expect wealth generation to increasingly be led by millennials. However, to sustain and grow your wealth requires you to decouple your investment strategy from your business strategy,» added Sharma.