 
Photo:Faizal Mohamed
Bandar Seri Begawan, Wednesday 11th February 2009.
The Think Big Business Plan Competition, the first ICT-focused business plan competition in Brunei Darussalam organised by iCentre, today announced the winners of the competition in a prize giving ceremony held at the Indera Kayangan Ballroom, The Empire Hotel & Country Club.
Present to honour the prize giving ceremony was Her Royal Highness Princess Hajah Masna, Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The ceremony saw three top ICT business plans being nominated as winners in the competition and one winner for the Special Merit Award for Islamic Application. Winning the ICT Business Plan category was Brumesh by Rafiqun WDSI, with YouGotSnapped by Expansys Technology in the second place and Outsource Contact Centre by 24-7 Assist in the third place. The winners walked away with cash prize awards of $20,000, $10,000 and $5,000 respectively. Meanwhile, the Special Islamic Merit Award was given to Mimit e-Technology with a cash prize of $2,000.
The ceremony began with welcoming remarks by Dr Lily Chan, Chief Executive Officer of NUS Enterprise, and Dato Paduka Timothy Ong, Acting Chairman of the BEDB, followed by a keynote address by Her Royal Highness Princess Hajah Masna.
In her welcoming remarks, Dr Lily Chan said that iCentre, as the first ICT incubator in Brunei Darussalam, would continue to help provide the necessary supports toward the realization of the many entrepreneurial dreams that our talented Bruneians have. “Although we have only 8 finalists, I would like to stress that each and every one of you who have participated in the ThinkBig Business Plan Competition is a winner in your own right. You have the winning combination of having the passion to be a technopreneur, the ability to not only spot but take advantage of a new opportunity and the discipline to see it through. I hope that you also have what I think is one of the most important entrepreneurial traits of them all: Perseverance. So even though you may not have made it to the finals of this competition, use what you have learnt over the past five months and continue to pursue your entrepreneurial endeavors. iCentre strives to be the centre of excellence in developing ICT entrepreneurs and also the focal point for ICT development in Brunei Darussalam. I urge those that are considering the path of a technology entrepreneurship to approach iCentre and let us see how we can help you to achieve your dream”, she said.
The Think Big Business Plan Competition, launched in August 2008, offers the largest cash prize awards of its kind in Brunei Darussalam. The main aim is to motivate local entrepreneurs to realise their ideas in the field of information and communications technology (ICT) with the opportunity to develop their business ideas and enhance their creativity; as well as to provide a platform for identifying, nurturing and showcasing entrepreneurial talents in Brunei. This competition also provides the participants access to global resources and the entrepreneurial process through workshops and mentoring programme.
This year’s competition saw a notable participation of 39 ICT enthusiasts including 7 iCentre incubatees with background ranging from online games and shops, online malls and schools, portal, social networking, mobile applications to enterprise solutions. Led by Professor Wong Poh Kam from NUS Enterprise as Chair to the panel of judges, the panel of judging for the finals of this competition comprised of key figures from both the private sector and academia including KPMG, AiTi, BSP, NUS, UBD and UNISSA.
Also present at the prize giving ceremony were key figures from the public sector including ministers, deputy ministers, permanent secretaries and senior government officials, as well as key members form the local business community.
Press Contact: Lela Suhailee (lela@bedb.com.bn) |
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