The Ministry of Energy, Manpower and Industry (MEMI) in collaboration with Brunei Gas Carriers Sdn Bhd (BGC) is proud to introduce the BGC iUsahawan programme, to support the iUsahawan initiative, an entrepreneurship development initiative to support our young Bruneian SMEs to start, own and grow their own business. The programme is also part of BGC’s Social Investment initiative.

Participants will be required to go through a Training (Start-Up Accelerator) Programme and will be invited to a competitive tender exercise For selected contracts. Successful participants will be awarded a 3-year contract, with potential extensions and experienced mentors throughout the contract period.

This invitation is open to:

• Rakyat Jati Business Owners or Entrepreneurs aged between 18-40 years old
• No prior contract with Government or Government—Linked Companies (GLCS)
• Business areas: Cleaning Services, Event Management and Transportation Services.

BGC invites all eligible entrepreneurs to attend a dialogue on the following date:

Date: Friday, 17th August 2018
Registration: 09:00 hrs
Time: 09:30 – 11:30 hrs
Venue: Abadi Training Room, BGC Office, Bangunan Lim Kah Sik, Jalan Jerudong

For more information and to register your interest to join the dialogue, please contact BGC at 7290898 or via email to BGCExternal-affairs@bgc.com.bn by Wednesday, 15th August 2018.

With the organizers and partners for the upcoming TechXpo 2018 event happening this Saturday

The TechXpo 2018 is just around the corner. A few more days to be exact. The highlight of the TechXpo is definitely the TechXpo Cyber Games Tournament, jointly organized by D’Sunlit and Sigma Cyberspace where Progresif will be the title sponsor. A record pool prize of BND 15,000 is slated to be the biggest yet for Brunei cyber tournaments, featuring games such as Counter Strike, League of Legends, DOTA, Tekken 7, FIFA 18 (which I am joining) as well as Mobile Legends and Rules of Survival. All the registrations have been closed for now and there are more than 300 participants already that have signed up for the tournament.

Another highlight for the TechXpo are the robots, all the way from Belgium known as Zora Robotics NV (ZoraBots), a pretty interactive humanoid robot for the public to interact with.

The theme for this year’s TechXpo is “Innovative Technology for All” as the Chairman of InfoCom Federation Brunei, Sheikh Hj Abas, said that everything we do nowadays are linked with technology, even with food. Hence, the theme suits to attract crowd of all ages.

The Plenary Hall will be used for the upcoming TechXpo and do check it out as they will be special offers from participating vendors.

The event will take place this Friday 18th August and ends on 21st August 2018. Oh yea, if you are keen to try out the latest Samsung Galaxy Note 9, you can check out the demo unit at DST booth during the TechXpo before the official launch next week.

The TechXpo 2018 is organized by InfoCom Federation Brunei and D’Sunlit.

D’Sunlit and InfoCom Federation Brunei exchanging documents

Cuckoo (Brunei) will be one of the partners for the event

Progresif playing a major role as the title sponsor for the TechXpo Cyber Games Tournament

Sigma Cyberspace will be organizing the gaming tournament

TelBru is also one of the partners of the event

Registration has already been closed

After a huge success for the first trail game (Epidemic: Race to Rescue), BAG Networks have launched the second edition, an augmented reality mobile game which will take place during the upcoming TechXpo 2018.

Dubbed the “Trail to TechXpo 2018”, registration has already been opened for all of you to participate leading to the upcoming event. The new game utilizes both GPS and AR technology with the help of your smartphones as you gather clues around Brunei-Muara district and the end point will be at TechXpo event itself at the International Convention Centre.

Apparently there will be 8 check points if I’m not mistaken for “Trail to TechXpo 2018” and the new game will three rounds. First step will be checking in on the checkpoints, then solve the puzzles during the TechXpo and final mystery will be on the main stage of the Plenary Hall at ICC. You can register your team here and good luck 😀

The prizes were not announced yet but the prizes will be sponsored by DST.

The Trail to TechXpo 2018 game is open for registration

Representatives from BAG Networks during the recent press conference

Yang Berhormat Awang Iswandy bin Ahmad who led the 1st Brunei Young Leaders Convention 2018

Brunei Young Leaders Convention 2018, organized by AlHuffaz Management and Generasi Bekarih, led by member of Legislative Council, Yang Berhormat Awang Iswandy bin Ahmad has started yesterday, 7 August at Goldstone Ballroom, Centrepoint Hotel, Gadong. Present as the guest of honour for the launching ceremony and presentation of appreciation certificates for the supporters and sponsors were the Minister of Prime Minister’s Office, Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Abdul Mokti bin Haji Mohammad Daud.

Attending the launching ceremony were also Yang Berhormat Siti Rozaimeriyanty binti DSLJ Haji Abdul Rahman, Yang Berhormat Nik Hafimi binti Abdul Haadii and Managing Director of Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Dato Paduka Awang Eddie bin Dato Paduka Haji Sunny. Recital of Surah Al-Fatihah and Doa Selamat was led by the vice co-chairperson, Ustaz Haji Mohammad Loqman Al-Hakim bin Haji Hamdan.

He mentioned in his speech that in order to shape the future of the country, youth should grab any opportunities, explore and always look for any opportunities that were offered. Youth were encouraged to take a deeper understanding of ‘Belia Aset Negara’ because youth are the valuable future assets which would determine the strength and leadership of the future generation as well as the country.

“Kenali siapa kita dan jangan lupa asal usul diri kita. Negara Brunei Darussalam adalah negara yang memegang teguh falsafah dan konsep Melayu Islam Beraja, sebagai sebuah Negara Zikir dan ‘Baldatun Thayyibatun Warabbun Ghafur’. Kukuhkan dan kekalkan nilai-nilai keBruneian dan jati diri sebagai bangsa Brunei dalam diri para belia kerana ianya mampu memupuk dan menjiwai rasa kepunyaan atau sense of belonging, dan menanam semangat patriotism yang kukuh. Itulah calak Brunei, itulah purih Brunei. Dengan adanya sikap dan sifat semacam ini, maka sudah tentu para belia tidak akan mudah terkeluar dari ‘Acuan KeBruneian’ dan jangan mudah hanyut atau tergelincir dari ‘Landasan keBruneian’,” he added.

The ceremony proceeded with a keynote on Wawasan Brunei 2035 which was then delivered by Administrative Officer Special Grade of Sekretariat Tetap Wawasan Brunei 2035, Yang Mulia Muhammad Aziman bin Haji Awang Nasir.

Youth snapshot was then conducted by Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. In the afternoon, the convention continued with a session titled “Be The Change”, held by Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS). The first day ended with a networking session for the mentors and all participants.

A total of 200 participants, aged between 18 to 40 years old are taking part in the convention which will continue for three days until 9 August 2018.

Brunei Young Leaders Convention 2018 is held for the first time and it aims to deliver accurate and updated information regarding Wawasan Brunei 2035, to unite relevant youth development agencies as well as to provide platform for youth to carry out projects or programs that might support and achieve Wawasan Brunei 2035.

In addition to attending forums, participants also have the opportunity to interact and build network with the mentors which comprised of experienced youth regarding their future plans prior to attending the convention.

For more information and updates regarding the convention, visit www.bylconvention.com or follow the BYLC 2018’s official social media accounts on Instagram/Twitter (@bylconvention) and Facebook (Brunei Young Leaders Convention 2018). Some of the images courtesy of their event Facebook page.

Dr. Sophiana Chua of CSPS sharing on adaptive and radical changes that can have an impact on your life and your future

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? A vision/a goal that many of us choose to ignore.

One of the exercises conducted by Hanis Osman, CEO of Generasi Bekarih

Another form of networking (literally)

There were around 200 participants who signed up for the convention. Amazing start!!

Participants were engaging from the beginning

Dr. Sophiana sharing the journey of his brother in the younger days

DST Headquarters, Tungku Link (21/6/2018) – DST is aware that many individuals in Brunei are currently being affected by an international affected hoax phone call scam originating from various operators, masked as genuine local numbers, some of which are active numbers.

When subscribers answer these calls, there is an automated message from a pre-recorded voice speaking in Chinese. In such a situation, DST active subscribers are either affected by receiving calls, or their numbers are being used by phone scammers to call other subscribers without their knowledge.

We are not alone as many other operators around the world are facing the same issue. DST has been working around the clock to address these issues to prevent such incidents.

In the meantime, we would also like to share some ways that may ease subscribers during this period.

1. Subscribers can choose to reject a call and await a response via SMS or text from the caller.

2. If a call is answered and it is a spam call, hang up immediately.

3. Do not call back a number which you suspect is a spam call.

4. Never provide important information to these scammers upon request.

By using these methods, you can better protect your information from these hackers.

We would like to thank our subscribers for assisting us in this investigation by providing us with updates on numbers being affected. Should you have further inquiries or would like to report such calls, you may either contact our DSTCare 151 or our visit any of your nearest DST Branches.

Group photo with the stakeholders and the scholars of UNILEARN

An-Nur Harapan Sdn Bhd honoured recipients of the scholarship to the UNIKLEARN Autism Vocational Training & Internship programme in a signing ceremony held at the iCentre in Anggerek Desa this morning. The scholarships are funded by An-Nur Harapan Sdn Bhd and Progresif Cellular Sdn Bhd.

Present as the guest of honour to handover the scholarships to the recipients was Yang Mulia Pengiran Haji Salleh Ab Rahaman Bin Pengiran Haji Damit, Chairman of An-Nur Harapan Sdn Bhd.

The event began with the recital of the Al-Fatihah prayers, which was followed by welcoming remarks by Startup Brunei Project Manager, Rasyidah Samah, and a speech by An-Nur Harapan board member, Noorsurainah Tengah.

Muhammad Zulfadzli Bin Haj Matali, Mohd Syahmi Bin Haji Juma’at, Muhammad Hafizuddin Hussain Bin Haji Md Yusuf Thani, Md Firdaus Bin Haji Jimidin, Muhammad Syahrul Izzam Bin Asmat were selected based on several criteria have each received scholarships to attend the 6-month programme that will commence on 12 June 2018 at the SPARK Lifeskill Centre in Jangsak.

The signing ceremony was to recognize the first batch of the UNIKLEARN Autism Vocational Training & Internship Programme.  The next batch is slotted to commence in December 2018.

Rasyidah Samah, Startup Brunei Project Manager, said that the responses have been positive ever since the launch two months ago especially after the BIBD home showcase

Noorsurainah Tengah, An-Nur Harapan board member, shared that the sustainability is a priority in their program and hopes for the success of the new students in the program

“An-Nur Harapan Sdn Bhd is pleased to be able to assist the candidates in funding their vocational training into UNIKLEARN”, said Noorsurainah Tengah, An-Nur Harapan board member.  “We look forward to seeing these youth progress and develop, and eventually be equipped with the skills to begin employment upon completion of the programme and becoming contributing members of society.”

Noorsurainah further added that “the goal, ultimately, is to become partners with the clients, scholarship recipients, their parents and guardians, private and public sector and the community as a whole to increase student intake, capacity and job placement. To put it simply, to be part of society by recognizing both their strengths and weakness, and working with them, as we would anyone else.  It starts with these 5 trainees at Uniklearn, then their placement at an affiliated training ground Unikkone, and finally gainful employment”.

The UNIKLEARN programme is a vocational training and internship programme designed by professional therapists for autistic youths with the overarching mission to empower young adults with autism towards independence and be contributing members of the community.

The recipients of the scholarships by An-Nur Harapan Sdn Bhd and Progresif Cellular Sdn Bhd into the UNIKLEARN programme were selected based on the main criteria of holding Bruneian citizenship, are 16 years old and above, and diagnosed with the autism spectrum disorder or any other related development delays with further assessment conducted for suitability of admission.  The scholarship slots were limited to a few slots but regular applications into the programme will continue to be available.

The programme covers intensive training and skills building on key skills area made by experienced therapists and advisors.  Upon completion of their training, the youth in the programme will be provided with on-the-job training. They will also receive post-training support, including work transition support for subsequent internship or work opportunities.

Also present at the award ceremony were members of the An-Nur Harapan Sdn Bhd board of directors, representatives from Progresif Cellular Sdn Bhd, along with An-Nur Harapan Sdn Bhd management and other invited guests.

More information regarding the programme is available from the UNIKLEARN website www.UNIKLEARN.com.

One of the recipients for the UNIKLEARN Autism Vocational Training & Internship programme during the signing

One of the recipients for the UNIKLEARN Autism Vocational Training & Internship programme during the signing

The stakeholders mingling with the students and giving them morale support

Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) recently began its eighth annual Sirah Amal initiative aimed at providing support and relief to the underprivileged members of Brunei Darussalam’s community across all its four districts.

The Bank and its employees came together to bring joy to the families they visited, contributing relief items and offering donations such as daily requirements, prayer necessities, raya items and others to support preparations during Ramadhan and for the upcoming Syawal. The 8th Sirah Amal started with a visit to families in the Tutong District.

BIBD Deputy Managing Director, Hajah Noraini binti Haji Sulaiman commented, “Alhamdulillah, today marks the beginning of the eighth BIBD Sirah Amal as the Bank and its staff continue its commitment towards contributing to our community. The BIBD Sirah Amal provides an excellent platform for us to share our blessings, especially with the less fortunate, so that they are able to better enjoy the festive months with their loved ones. We would like to also thank SKH (Sim Kim Huat) Department store for being our community partner for this year’s Sirah Amal event.”

Ghanim International Corporation Sdn Bhd is at full speed this holy Ramadhan, distributing it’s first batch to more than 4,300 bottled oxygenated water to a number of Mosques in the capital as part of their ‘Beramal bersama di bulan Ramadhan’ donation initiative.

This first batch of deliveries is part of a month long programme of the distribution of bottled oxygenated water to mosques and individuals throughout the Brunei-Muara district generously contributed by the general public.
“This initiative is one of the many ways, bruneihalalfoods can be a platform for the public to give back to the community and helps to bring people together to engage with our communities,” said Dr. Nur Rahman, CEO of Ghanim International Corporation. “We are grateful for the continuous donations made by the public.

The ‘Beramal bersama di bulan Ramadhan’ campaign was launched in May 2017 where throughout the month of Ramadhan, the company opens donation channels for the public and distributes bruneihalalfoods products to mosques in which more than 14,400 bottled water were successfully distributed last Ramadhan.

For interests and inquiries on the bruneihalalfoods ‘Beramal bersama di bulan Ramadhan’ campaign, information can be obtained through all of bruneihalalfoods social media platforms @bruneihalal or call bruneihalalfoods at +673 245 0279.

Representatives from Honey Carsmart, DANA Pengiran Muda Mahkota Al-Mutahtadee Billah, SMARTER Brunei and Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam during the press conference for the Honey Carsmart 4th Annual Grand Sale next weekend

Something great is happening next weekend. This time is 5 times better in terms of benefits compared to the previous annual grand sale from Honey Carsmart. From 11th May to 13th May 2018, Honey Carsmart will holding their 4th Annual Grand Sale and it is also in conjunction with the 35th year anniversary in this industry.

As part of their 35th anniversary, the company will be giving away a unique electrical scooter for the first 35 customers during the grand sale period. On top of that, all the customers who purchased cars during the grand sale, they will benefit from the 3 X 5 package – a) 3 free monthly installments b) 3 free servicing c) 3 months warranty d) 3 free car wash and polishing and e) 3 free shopping vouchers worth BND 300. Now that’s a great value for customers.

For the first time, Honey Carsmart will have the support from two financing companies (previously one) and now customers have the choice to choose between Baiduri Finance Bhd and BIBD At-Tamwil Bhd. The event partners will be Seng Hoe Huat accessories who has strong relations with Honey Carsmart and they will be displaying some of their accessories. Their audio systems and auto gadgets will be sold at attractive prizes. RedBull will be the other event partner.

Honey Carsmart will continue the tradition in supporting and giving back to the community especially to the charitable foundations notably DANA Pengiran Muda Mahkota Al-Mutahtadee Billah, SMARTER Brunei and Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam. The company will contribute BND 300 for every unit sold within the 3 days and the charity pool will be equally distributed for donation purposes.

Last year, they managed to raise a total of BND 7,500 where 25 units were sold. This year, they are optimistic that the numbers of units sold will increase as it’s almost the festive season.

This time round there will be around 150 cars to choose. So better come down to Honey Carsmart next weekend and grab their best deal in town. You can follow updates on @honeycarsmartbrunei

Click image to enlarge

Sharifah Syuria Nazrah Malai Hj Hashim, Nurun Nazihah Hj Mustapa, Faten Amira Izzaty Joperi and Maydelyn Ling, the founders of BID.Co who came up with a brilliant idea of used baby equipments and gears. I hope your ideas will come into reality.

Sometimes, it’s always to good to listen to refreshing business ideas. We are used to things like retail business or even in the tech world. Some are even similar or duplicates of one another. I, alone, struggle to find refreshing ideas on what works and what doesn’t work especially in Brunei. I had some successes and some failures along the way but it’s always to experience both sides of the spectrum because that’s how an entrepreneur will learn the ropes of success.

Recently, I was surprised to see a friend of mine being involved in a Startup Weekend competition held at Laksamana College of Business. Madelyn Ling, a friend I knew from UBD Toastmasters Club, was part of the team called BID.co’s (Buy.Invest.Donate), that won the Startup Weekend competition.

Now here’s why I feel that BID.Co’s has the edge – a totally refreshing idea and furthermore, it adds value to the community of Brunei Darussalam. Imagine you have a storage full of baby equipments and gears at your home, collecting dust and purposeless since your children have grown up. What can be done with these equipments or items? This is where BID.Co comes in and presented their idea that they can be collect the used items and sell them at affordable prices especially for families who don’t have high disposable income. Furthermore, the portion of the sales will be used to raise funds for local NGOs as they are not easy to sustain. As long as the NGOs can be sustained, they will have enough resources to help the underprivileged community.

The founders, Sharifah Syuria Nazrah Malai Hj Hashim, Maydelyn Ling, Fatin Munirah Hj Sahrani, Nurun Nazihah Hj Mustapa and Faten Amira Izzaty Joperi, were over the moon as they were crowned the champions of the second Startup Weekend. It was something unexpected but now, the next step is to make this into a reality. The concept is there but it will be a long and fruitful journey in order to make this into a reality.

According to Madelyn, it has been her dream and been conversing the idea to her family. It was also the help of the mentors during the Startup Weekend to help them to be more focused and identify the underlying problems when it comes to baby equipments and gears. From there, they were able to identify how baby products and equipments are costly in Brunei and this idea of recycling used ones will provide alternatives to families in Brunei. Madelyn also shared that she had no plans to enter the competition, thinking it was only a workshop by Startup Weekend. It was definitely a blessing in disguise.

BID.Co team will head to Singapore in June to attend Asia’s largest Tech media platform e27. Awesome!!! Congratulations once again to all the ladies for winning and most of all, providing an innovative solution so we as a community can benefit.

Team BID.co receiving the winning prize with the organizers and the judges of Startup Weekend

Now what do you normally do when you have your old baby equipments in your storage? BID.Co can help you in handling these situations

Well done, Progresif Radio, on the well organised audition and the flow of things

A long queue before the start of the audition. Progresif building was definitely buzzing that day.

Progresif Radio attracted almost 100 registrants in the second audition two weekends ago. The numbers were close to the first audition held back in August 2017. Now Progresif Radio is expanding their team due to increase demands for content and the radio internet app is gradually gaining traction from listeners from their Progresif Radio app.

I, myself, am involved in sharing content on Progresif Radio for my movie section called “Popcorn Panel”, which reminds me to get back in the podcasting game after my last review was on Black Panther and the local hit Bodyman.

Anyway, back to the audition, it attracted different walks of life and age is not big factor as Progresif Radio are looking for those with personalities and charisma.

This time the audition was streamed live on Facebook and Instagram so the public are able to catch on how the auditions are being conducted and also support their friends/families during the audition. So far 44 made the cut into the second round and DJ Jenny, renowned DJ in Brunei, will be conduct another session for the shortlisted finalists before Progresif Radio make their final decisions.

Let’s find out pretty soon who will be the new faces of Progresif Radio in the coming weeks. I am excited.

I wasn’t the 28th person but this is my family’s number. Why not pose as well 😀

I had a demo in front of the DJs. Until now, I didn’t have a clear answer if I made it or not *lol*

The DJs interviewing one of the participants

Did he make it to the next round? I believe he did.

The room that delivered the good or the bad news. But they delivered it with compassion and encouragement.

Yay, she made it to the next round. How far will she go? @thelittlelifter_

Another movie enthusiast who made it to the next round @marinagusdin

Adib Noor had his round with DJ Jenny in the second round. Will he get called for the third session? We shall wait & see.