SINGAPORE – Secondary school students in an entrepreneurship programme are getting a fillip from a Web app developed by volunteers from Swiss investment bank UBS that tackles business concepts such as expenditure and revenue.

The Secondary 3 Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) students are from local youth development charity Halogen Foundation’s Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship programme, which is designed to help them build business fundamentals. The programme consists of a hands-on curriculum run over the course of a year in local schools.

The break-even analysis Web application developed by UBS Singapore staff is meant to help young people undergoing the entrepreneurship training better understand how their expenditure and revenue play a part in the financial performance of their business concepts.

UBS Singapore and Halogen Foundation, a charity that focuses on building young leaders and entrepreneurs, are into their fourth year of collaboration as at this month.

Mr Mayank Mehra, who heads UBS’ Asia-Pacific client reporting delivery department, said: “We had several brainstorming sessions internally and together with Halogen to conceptualise the application and provide a meaningful learning experience.”

UBS volunteers also support Halogen Foundation’s Graduates Mentorship Programme, which is for young people who have successfully completed the entrepreneurship training.

In this programme, participants get one-on-one coaching that helps them set goals and map out their future educational and career options.

These students are on the Education Ministry’s Financial Assistance Scheme and are going through a transition year of their N-level examinations.

UBS Optimus Foundation Singapore, a grant-making foundation that offers UBS clients a platform to use their wealth to drive positive social and environmental change, has also set aside additional funding support for Halogen to focus on developing a framework for tracking, evaluating and reporting of its programmes.

It is also funding Halogen Foundation’s Mentorship programmes for tertiary students.

Halogen Foundation chief executive Ivy Tse said UBS’ focus on youth aligns with her organisation’s vision of “transforming the lives of young people through character, mindset and skill set development”.

UBS Singapore community affairs lead Julie Yeo said: “This collaboration has brought forth amazing transformation in the students we have worked with across the years.

“Our colleagues have repeatedly volunteered over the past years to mentor students on the topic of business fundamentals, developing an entrepreneurial mindset and how to build confidence. The interaction goes two ways – from our interactions, UBS volunteers were also able to learn about the current struggles that students are facing and were able to contribute meaningfully in between work.”

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