Bandar Seri Begawan, Wednesday 7 July 2010

His Majesty The Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan has consented to the launch of a new program to support the development of new technology and products by Brunei SMEs.

Under this new Brunei SME Product Development Program which has an initial fund size of B$ 2 million, local SMEs with innovative ideas and good business plans can apply for grants of up to a maximum of B$150,000/- per application for the purpose of developing promising product concepts into prototypes.

“We are very thankful to His Majesty for this program as it fills a gap in terms of support available for local SMEs. We believe this initiative will encourage innovation in Brunei and support the development of Made in Brunei technology” said Dr Hj Manaf Hj Metussin, Deputy CEO and Head of Local Business Development at the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB).

The criteria used in evaluating applications will include the export potential of the products to be developed, commercial applications in the private and/or public sector and the demonstrated commitment of the people behind each application. Grant applications will be evaluated by a committee chaired by the CEO of the BEDB and comprising representatives from key Ministries and the Institute Technology Brunei.

This new program is the latest in a series of BEDB initiatives to support local SMEs which include the iCentre, the country’s only incubator for local ICT SMEs; Accel-X, a venture capital fund for promising technology start-ups; a Micro Grant Scheme to assist young people from less privileged backgrounds to start their own businesses and Padian.com, a marketing web based portal developed by four Brunei ICT companies aimed at connecting Brunei SMEs to the global market place. 

<End of Press Release >

Press Contact:                      Emma Agaki

The Brunei Economic Development Board

Tel: (673) 2230111 ext 126 or 8989578

Fax: (673) 2230071

E-mail: emma.agaki@bedb.com.bn