Entrepreneurs speak out - Ernst & Young - Global

Viewpoint: Xavier López Ancona - President KidZania, Mexico

Xavier López Ancona

KidZania is a chain of family entertainment centers that allows children to play in a replica city exactly to their scale, complete with branding by corporate sponsors.
Xavier López Ancona founded the company in 1999 in Mexico City.

"I have seen several improvements in Mexico since I started out. One of the big changes is in the education system. When I was studying business administration, there was no single entrepreneur course. Now, there are full entrepreneur programs and you can major in entrepreneurship at private universities. What we need now is for the public universities to also promote entrepreneurship, and for this to filter down to the high school level.

Likewise, 15 or 20 years ago there was no single association that promoted entrepreneurship. Now, we have organizations such as Endeavor, conferences and various awards that recognize entrepreneurs' achievements.

The Government has also reduced red tape for entrepreneurs just starting out, so it takes much less time to get a business going, and there is much more information available via websites and other channels.

I still see some opportunities to improve access to funding — not necessarily providing the funding itself, but creating an environment that will attract angel investors and private equity firms to Mexico."

Viewpoint: Emrah Kaya - Chief Youth Officer, Youtholding (Turkey)

Emrah Kaya

Serial entrepreneur Emrah Kaya now oversees Youtholding, an umbrella organization
that focuses on developing marketing strategies aimed at young people — a rich market
considering that fully half of Turkey’s population is under the age of 29.

“Entrepreneurship is becoming more popular among young people in Turkey. Before, it was seen as a last resort when a young graduate couldn’t find a job and didn’t have any other options. Nowadays, it increasingly draws talented and ambitious people with business-oriented minds.

In the past few years, many alternative capital and funding options have emerged for young entrepreneurs. The most important are the angel investors. KOSGEB, a government organization for SMEs, also supports successful business plans, and private equity firms are a great opportunity for entrepreneurs who are beyond the starting stage.

The Government needs to encourage entrepreneurs in, primarily, technology and the media through tax incentives, R&D support and office support. All investment that supports entrepreneurs should be tax free, which would encourage foreign investment in Turkey.

Other than financial support, young entrepreneurs need entrepreneurship programs in high schools and universities, and successful entrepreneurs as hands-on role models. TUGIAD, an association of young entrepreneurs, is helpful in this way, and it’s one of Youtholding’s major responsibilities to extend this kind of support. In the past nine years, our Egitisim Career Institute has supported 72,000 young entrepreneurs by educating them in areas such as business administration, marketing, HR and communications.”

Viewpoint: Sang-Hwan Park - CEO, HanaTour, South Korea

Sang-Hwan Park

Sang-Hwan Park is CEO of HanaTour, Korea’s largest travel agency, which was founded in 1993.
In 2006, the company floated on the London Stock Exchange — one of the only KOSDAQ-listed companies to do so.

“I strongly believe that it is motivating for employees if they feel a company does not belong to just one person, but to everyone who works there. You need to share the profits with those who work with you, which will make the funding process more fluid and easier. The Government needs to come up with funding-related measures to encourage this trend.

While venture companies have been around for some time in South Korea, many people have yet to be convinced by the idea of them. One way to address this would be to review the tax system. Corporation tax keeps shooting up, and now it’s 24.2%. VAT has increased as well. Lower taxes would encourage people to set up venture businesses. There have to be massive changes on a governmental level.

I would also like to see the Korean education system focus more on developing creativity, whereas now it only focuses on learning by memorizing. In the US, for example, creativity is more encouraged in schools. The whole education system needs to be overhauled if South Korea wants to see good entrepreneurs in the future.”