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Dato Kenneth Kolb's Interview on ExpatriateLifestyle, June Issue
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, June
Entrepreneurs and the SMEs they command are the nimble fighting ships that can sink heavier armadas, despite the odds against them. Without this sense of spirit and vigour, middle-class development wouldn’t be possible, the capitalism that Simon Schama in his seminal work, The Embarrassment of Riches, spoke of, one that dictated that the newly created capitalists would work not for personal enrichment only but to create wealth that would raise society into a new level of an ownership society and civic values therein, wouldn’t be possible. Whether they understand those dynamics or not, entrepreneurism is a component of our collective civic society. “I don’t believe in socialism but I do believe that we as business owners have a commitment and responsibility, if we make, if we enjoy then it’s our duty to give more,” he explains, alluding to the various charities and non-profit initiatives that he both supports and has launched.
With all this importance placed on the role of these unique individuals, it may or not come as a surprise that various countries facilitate the ability for a new business entity to launch. Malaysia is twenty-fourth out of 178 countries according to World Bank’s Doing Business ranking, one of the most respected indexes around, and new benchmarks are being set in place to improve that ranking to top ten status. The twin organisations of Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) and the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) are, by all accounts, helpful, transparent and accessible to business persons who want to set up a business and start their activities.
“I found MATRADE very helpful,” says budding entrepreneur Flavie Causse, a woman who is setting up manufacturing contracts for a French partner under the name Petits Parisiens, a firm that does one-of-a-kind baby items. She says that so far, the system is accessible and she’s finding it reasonable to deal with.
Minna Saneri echoes the sentiment of many that the recent changes of more open ownership structures (read: non-bumi partners) is a helpful move as well as the new developments in Cyberjaya to create 100 per cent foreign ownership and an easy set of guidelines to get established, but much remains to be done to create the ideal situation for foreign investment and an entrepreneurial climate.
“There are still things you need to set up a business: you have to have a shop lot, you need to demonstrate your capital, there are immigration procedures that don’t always coordinate well with the industrial side of the bureaucracies. It's getting easier in the sense that the service sector is opening, you don’t need a bumi partner anymore so that’s an improvement. But as an individual, as an entrepreneur, it’s very difficult. You have to prove a lot of things, they are not rules and regulations always, they’re things that have just been the way they are,” Minna says, drawing a breath. “And we’re trying to have a dialogue with the ministries, giving them advice on how to make the business permit process easier and more transparent. If you lowered the cost of the permit process or made it a one-stop type approach, like MIDA (Malaysian Industrial Development Authority) does, that would be very, very helpful.”
ICT is a good example, she explains. You have the permit process there that has to be vetted across a few ministries, one the Communication Ministry and others, a taxing process that is inefficient and leads to frustrations. “In fact there’s talk about letting MIDA take over the whole permit process, that’s not a bad idea. If Malaysia could iron out these issues then they’d have it all.” Like every country (try setting up a business in France) there are challenges and evolutions in the process.
For Kolb though it’s very simple and straightforward: being an entrepreneur is a path that has to fit one’s soul, has to be who they are. “You know, they say that the difference between a fool and a genius is success. And when people look at me and say, ‘he’s an overnight success’ I have to laugh. Yeah, an overnight success that took five years.” Then he looks at the canning line of his product, one that’s gearing up to place a million units in Australia alone. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he declares, blowing his trademark cigar smoke into the rarefied air.
[Pull quotes]
The Wells Fargo/NFIB estimates that over the lifetime of a business, 39 per cent are profitable, 30 per cent break even, and 30 per cent lose money; in other words you have a coin flip chance of making a profit
“I don’t believe in socialism but I do believe that we as business owners have a commitment and responsibility, if we make, if we enjoy then it’s our duty to give more”
Dato’ Kenneth Kolb
Malaysia is twenty-fourth out of 178 countries according to World Bank’s Doing Business ranking, one of the most respected indexes around, and new benchmarks are being set in place to improve that ranking to top ten status
Saneri echoes the sentiment of many that the recent changes of more open ownership structures (read: non-bumi partners) is a helpful move as well as the new developments in Cyberjaya to create 100 per cent foreign ownership and an easy set of guidelines to get established
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