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The Youthépreneur National Pushcart Challenge
which was held on Sunday at the National Library Board (NLB) Building ended on a
high note with Catholic High school being crowned as Singapore’s 1st
Youthépreneur National Pushcart Challenge Champion. Kent Ridge Secondary School
and Regent Secondary School were first runner-up and second runner-up
respectively. Kent Ridge Secondary School clinched the award for Most Creative
Business Idea as well as Most Promising Business Idea; Catholic High School for
Most Patronized Stall; and Zhenghua Secondary School for Best Visual Display
Stall.
105 student participants from 14 secondary
schools participated in this inaugural event. This event was developed to
showcase Singapore’s budding entrepreneurial talents where products such as
beaded accessories to stationery, cards and T-shirts were put forth by the
participants.
The event, which was hosted by first year
Diploma in Integrated Events Management students, Vivian and Adi, got off to a
smashing start with performances by RP’s Malay Cultural Group Interest Group (IG),
Hip-Hop Dance IG, Modern Dance IG, Percussion Beats Ensemble Encore IG, Lion
Dance IG, Magic IG and Replug IG and Magic IG.
A series of entrepreneurship talks by popular
Singaporean youth entrepreneurs were also held concurrently with the
performances. Ricky Chew, MD & Co-Founder of Fish & Co. spoke about “The
contributions of entrepreneurship in Singapore and the importance of the
entrepreneur continuity for our economy and society”. Mr. Eugene Low, MD &
Co-Founder of Hard Ware Zone shared his experiences on starting a business young
with “Want to start a business while still in school? Of course you can.” The
participants also learnt a thing or two about starting a business from Darius
Cheung, CEO and Founder of TenCube with his topic on “3 things you need to know
when you start a new business”
Mr. Tan Huan Peow, Director of Centre for
Innovation and Entreprise said in his opening speech, “We are hoping for the
event to act as a launchpad for these students’ future entrepreneurial interest
and ultimately some of them may even have successful careers as an entrepreneur.
This competition brings together schools who have participated in our EEP
(Entrepreneurship Education Programme) on a common platform in order to further
enhance their entrepreneurial learning.”
The Guest of Honour at the event, Mr. Douglas
Foo, CEO of Apex-Pal International, was full of praises for RP’s effort. In his
welcome speech, he mentioned, “It is heartening to learn that educational
institutions such as Republic Polytechnic are making great efforts to encourage
and develop entrepreneurship amongst the youths in Singapore. The Youthépreneur
National Pushcart Challenge… is a good example which allows our budding
entrepreneurs to show off their creativity and marketing skills.” Mr. Douglas
Foo is the man who popularized conveyor belt sushi and introduced Sakae Sushi to
the masses in Singapore.
Students from JIVE IG and Business Climate IG
also played key roles in materializing the event. They performed key duties as
ushers, stage helpers, registration helpers and event co-ordinators.
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