The Knowledge to Decide

Nigeria’s economy was worth over USD400 billion in 2013 – ahead of South Africa’s GDP of USD355 billion . Nigeria is becoming Africa’s largest oil exporter. But amidst the opportunities, challenges remain – chiefly political instability, theft of natural resources and lack of infrastructure. Will Nigeria’s emergence as the latest frontier market be a smooth one? A growing economy Now being referred as one of the MINT frontier economies in the world (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey), Nigeria is expected to emerge as an economic powerhouse of the future . It has a good track record over the past ten years, with 7.4% real GDP growth in 2013, up from 6.7% in 2012. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and the ninth most populous in the world. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and the ninth most populous in the world, with 173.6 million people in 2013. According to recent UN projections, Nigeria will become one of the most populous countries in the world

Singapore needs to harness its older workforce and instil confidence in the economy to survive the age of disruption. Can the nation continue to maintain its economic competitiveness? Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights in the Asian version of Japan’s Nikkei newspaper. With one of the worst total fertility rates amongst developed countries worldwide, Singapore needs to utilize the older workforce as a source of economic potential and also stimulate entrepreneurship among Singaporeans of all ages. This can be attained through policies that focus on managing the cost of living and enhancing retirement adequacy. The nation boasts of a good civil service and an efficient infrastructure which needs to be preserved. However, national competitiveness in the 21st century will hinge on innovation and entrepreneurship, arenas where Singapore has thus far been less successful than some other developed countries. There needs to b

With an expected turnover of over USD12 billion by 2018, Asia is deemed the second largest e-learning market in the world. Accelerated growth is anticipated in countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar. Taiwan’s Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) provides an e-learning portal that offers users downloads, teaching resources, and teaching plans along with e-books for Chinese education. India is now home to many online schools – a more economical option for those who cannot afford to attend traditional colleges. Programs in these schools are expected to be valued at USD1 billion (in revenue) by 2020. Is Asia’s online education industry poised to take off? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/asia-goes-online-for-education/

How can Singapore become more eco-friendly? Leon Perera, CEO of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights in The Business Times – Views from the Top section on 24 April 2017. Perera commented that to increase the public collection of recyclables, there should be better education and more frequent collection from recycling bins in housing estates. Perera also opined that measures should be taken to tackle food waste in Singapore’s hawker centers. The government also needs to work together with business chambers and retailers to encourage the purchase of products which are produced in a sustainable manner. Moreover, businesses need to think whether the supplies they purchase are made in a sustainable manner and not focus solely on reducing expenditure for paper, electricity and other supplies. https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/events/increase-collection-of-recyclables-for-a-greener-singapore/

In mid-2015, Spire Research and Consulting collaborated with global education service provider Pearson for the third time, to conduct a survey of 5,387 teachers in schools and higher education institutes across 527 cities and towns in India. Through this survey, teachers voiced their opinions on the employability of Indian students and shared their suggestions to improve the situation. The Pearson-Spire survey revealed that, in the view of teachers, nearly 57% of students are educated but unfit for employment. Such unemployable students are found to be the highest in Haryana at 67% and the lowest in Uttar Pradesh at 49%. Teachers felt that the solution lay in increasing collaboration between educational institutions, in particular for course restructuring (75%) as well as merit-based internships (48%) for students. Teachers also highlighted the need for industry-based training (44%). Approximately 66% of the respondents felt that technology adoption with inclusion of s

Singapore celebrated its golden jubilee as one of the world’s developed economies. Following the death of founding father Lee Kuan Yew and the current global economic headwinds, can economic momentum be maintained? Japnit Singh, Senior Director, Singapore and India, of Spire Research and Consulting shared his insights in China Daily – Asia Weekly. Singapore has successfully built a strong foundation for its economy with human development indicators such as education, life expectancy and per capita income on a positive high. Singh cautioned that the nation needs to focus in order to take bold and productive political decisions without becoming complacent. Moreover, it would be interesting to see if the next generation of political leaders would take difficult decisions with the same firmness and transparency as the founding fathers have done in the past. Singapore’s GINI coefficient – calculated as the ratio of income of the top 20% of population with the bottom 20% –

In mid-2014,  Spire Research and Consulting  collaborated with global education service provider Pearson for the second time, to conduct a study of 5,145 teachers in schools and higher education institutes across 247 cities in India. The study revealed that teachers ranked skill and personality development as the most important area to focus on for improving learner outcomes. The Pearson-Spire study revealed that nearly 50 percent of students who had entered a classroom lacked the academic, vocational and cognitive skills requisite for that level. This implied that most learning environments were failing their students. In spite of these sobering findings, most teachers (79 percent) still perceived a noted improvement in India’s learning environment over the past decade. These improvements were noted to have come about through the practical exposure gained by teachers, teaching combined with technology, teacher training on new methodologies as well as an improved curriculum a