Business plan competitions for future Thai entrepreneurs
See "Turning plans into reality" (back page, business)
The "Bangkok Business Challenge" is a student business plan competition for students all over Asia. The competition "focuses on the creation of ventures with real market potential." The competition gives students practice working with real business problems before they graduate by simulating one of the problems that corporations face, creating new products and services. New and innovative business ideas are especially important for the success of SME's, an important part of Thailand's economy. Can you identify who is hosting the event? Three winning business plans this year are described in the article:
1. "My Car" from National University of Singapore.
2. "Bioshield" from Mahidol University.
3. "Gissco" from Sasin School of Management, Chulalongkorn.
Try matching the details from business plans listed below with the business plans above they belong to:
1. The target market is manufacturers of shrimp feed.
2. It could help Thai shrimp exports.
3. The automobile industry is the targeted market.
4. It is an agricultural product.
5. More money will be made from advertising than from customers.
6. A famous advertising agency has expressed interest in the idea.
7. It has a rental rate as low as 75 baht per hour.
8. It is a medical product.
9. It reduces the difficulty of having a car in Singapore.
10. The CP Group may be interested.
11. It could increase the durability of parts.
In the last paragraph, two additional benefits of the contest are noted, What are they? How could creating friends with business students from overseas be beneficial in the future?
Vocabulary (in article)
lucrative - profitable.foster - encourage the development and growth of
entrepreneurial spirit - the spirit of a business person who starts their own company with a new and therefore risky business idea.
city-state - a small country like Singapore that is only a city
duties - taxes on goods imported into a country from another country
empowering - giving a group of people the power they need to do something they need to do.
hassles - difficulties and troubles.
elitism - the feeling that you need to belong to a small group of very special people (here car owners)
intrigued - interested in something, usually because it is strange and unusual
seed money - the money needed to start a business (like planting a "seed")
venture capital - money invested in a new, small, and usually risky company
venture capital funds - provide venture capital to small and risky start-up companies (this is equity not a loan, the fund owns a lot of the company)
vaccine - an injection given to prevent people from getting a disease
Moot Corp competition - an competition that gives students real life practice by simulating how a real corporation works, in law schools "Moot court competitions" give future lawyers training in a simulated (not real) court
manufacturing hub - the central and main place for some kind of business activity like automobile manufacturing or air travel.