iCentre Sign Of Good Things To Come
By Zasika Musdi

Bandar Seri Begawan - The opening of the iCentre at Kg Anggerek Desa yesterday is bound to cause a positive ripple effect for Brunei Darussalam.

If more buildings like the iCentre are located within the same area, the country will eventually have a community of people who are able to take full advantage of the components offered by the iCentre.

This observation was made by Lily Chan, the Chief Executive Officer of National University of Singapore (NUS) Enterprise. NUS Entreprise was established in 2001 as a university-level cluster to provide an entrepreneurial and innovative dimension to education and research.

Chan said that the NUS Entreprise provides three things namely, 'Experiential Education', `Technology Transfer' and 'Entrepreneurship Support Group'.

She explained that the 'Experiential Education' includes a programme where 150 students are chosen from the university and placed in 'entrepreneurial hubs' located at five different locations around the world.

The classes that these students take at the university would be related to new venture creations or case studies. However, the key thing is identifying product companies they can work with, she said, adding that after the students complete the course they would either say, "This is really the life I want" or "This is not for me".

The iCentre consists of 'hardware' and 'software' components, Chan said, explaining that hardware essentially meant a physical infrastructure that you put in place such as a building or place where people get together.

"The software component is really the people, the passion, the drive and the courage to do something like the establishment of the iCentre and starting up a company," she said.

"Even in Singapore, it's not that straightforward and simple - you don't get a lot of people jumping into anything and say 'We want to do it'. Over here, the people you see at the iCentre are somehow considered, in my opinion, really courageous to jump into wanting to start up a company."

However, she said that the 'software component' is truly more important than the hardware component, but within the ecosystem itself, it is not sufficient.

"They need a lot of support from the government and private sector" she added.

"When the Bruneian delegates came to NUS, they thought our components were very interesting, and they were hoping to have more collaboration with us and apply it in Brunei.

"One way of doing this is through an internship programme we're hoping to establish with the entrepreneurial unit at Universiti Brunei Darussalam.

"Once it works out, we're hoping to extend it to the technical colleges as well. It will definitely open up the horizons for the students, where they get to see for themselves the kind of things they would have to go through if they were to set up their own business."

She said that investment is also an important aspect in the business, where companies can seek capital from a professional fund manager who would not only just inject money into the company, but play an active role in guiding and working with the management of the company.

Chan thinks that this component is another important one to note for this ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation.

"I think the environment that we've imported from Singapore to Brunei is a very collegiate one. For example, if a company needs help, they can get it from the management or the centre.

"If they're wondering who they can talk to beyond the Brunei environment, such as Singapore, they can do so through us.

"It's a two-way street, for there are some companies from Singapore who are trying to penetrate into the Brunei market. Along with the partnership here, and through cooperation, we can make it work."

She said that it is important to note that no matter how successful you want your company to be, there will be failures. Therefore, she feels that the Brunei Government has to put in more components to the ecosystem. But she admits that this would take time.

"Today is just a start of a long journey for the iCentre," she said. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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