Enterprise Singapore, formerly International Enterprise Singapore and SPRING Singapore, is the government agency championing enterprise development. Its mission is to grow stronger Singapore enterprises, to drive and sustain Singapore’s economy, and to provide good jobs for Singaporeans.  To this end, Enterprise Singapore works with committed companies to develop their capabilities, innovate and transform so that they can expand globally to seize business opportunities. Enterprise Singapore believes in grooming “Global Executives” who are bold, enterprising and collaborative through its global network and myriad of career opportunities.

Developing Business-Savvy Skills

Qiuhan is currently on her second posting where she is a Development Partner at the China desk. Enthusiastically, she explains how her role contributes to Enterprise Singapore’s mission. “Our role as an economic agency is all-encompassing," she says. "We support the capability development of local companies both in Singapore and overseas, which in turn supports their internationalisation efforts. Through quality and standards, we also deepen trust in Singapore’s products and services and create demand for Singapore companies globally.”

She believes that to succeed in her role, she must go beyond just textbook knowledge – developing an open and global mindset is also essential.  Personally, Qiuhan credits her scholarship for providing her with opportunities to broaden her mindset. The scholarship enabled her to study in London and California, giving her numerous opportunities to understand different cultural and business norms while developing networks in the international community.

“I gained insights into what makes Singapore attractive to foreign companies and deepened my understanding of the differences between the East and West. All these enabled me to pitch Singapore’s advantages effectively and transform local companies such that they are desirable in the global market,” Qiuhan details.

Nurturing Diverse Enterprises

Her role at the China desk is meaningful yet challenging. She explains that she works with various industry clusters to identify and develop value propositions that will make Singapore companies attractive to the Chinese market. In addition, she is also involved in facilitating high-level dialogues between Singapore and China, as part of ESG’s secretariat role to 7 Singapore-China provincial business councils. “With the formation of Enterprise Singapore, we now serve both SMEs and large companies alike. The type of assistance they need differs – it could be general market intelligence, or government support for lobbying or sealing a deal.”

No matter what the company requires, Qiuhan notes that it is essential that she and her team remain updated and informed about market trends to provide the latest market intelligence, especially on policies and political sensitivity in order to best support local companies.

Exciting and Engaging Future for Scholars

The most exciting and rewarding part of her job, Qiuhan shares, is the opportunity to meet and interact with decision makers of local and foreign companies, as well as high-level government officials from Singapore and other countries, where she gets to learn from the brightest and boldest. This, she believes, is something that fresh graduates rarely encounter in the private sector.

As she looks forward to scaling new heights, Qiuhan highlights, “Being part of this organisation offers me an opportunity to not only understand and scale up the capabilities of our own Singapore companies, but to also witness and explore the vast opportunities in other countries. You will constantly be challenged, but it will be a fulfilling journey and Singapore companies will appreciate you for what you have done for them. Most importantly, you are in the position to contribute to the molding of Singapore’s economic future.”