| Achong Tanjong |
THE US Embassy in Brunei Darussalam continues to support Brunei’s efforts to develop local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) via entrepreneurship-related activities.
This was stated by Craig Boyd Allen, US Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam, in his opening keynote – US commitment to SME development at the opening of a seminar themed ‘Accelerating Competitiveness among SMEs with Technology’, held yesterday at the Grand Brilliance Hall, Concepts Technologies in Kiulap.
“In particular, I am delighted to announce that three local entrepreneurs have been invited to represent Brunei at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) that will be hosted by President Barack Obama in Silicon Valley from June 22 to 24,” he said.
“Hosting GES in Silicon Valley will highlight America’s entrepreneurial spirit and allow American investors and entrepreneurs to see the talent, solutions and opportunities that exist globally in countries such as Brunei,” he said adding that at the same time, GES 2016 aims to showcase inspiring entrepreneurs and investors from around the world, create new opportunities for investment, partnership, and collaboration, connect American entrepreneurs and investors with international counterparts to form lasting relationships and highlight entrepreneurship as a means to address some of the most intractable global challenges.
US Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam, Craig Boyd Allen (C) pose with management and staff of Con-cepts Technologies. – ACHONG TANJONG
He pointed out that in recent years, Brunei has introduced a number of initiatives to demonstrate its commitment to local entrepreneurs and diversify its economy away from hydrocarbon exports. In 2013, the E-Government National Centre (EGNC) partnered with Microsoft to develop the Brunei Solutions Development Centre (BSDC), a software development facility to train local developers that will grow Brunei’s ICT industry.
In 2016, the Energy and Industry Department under the Prime Minister’s Office announced the launch of the statutory body Darussalam Enterprise (DARe) to support the growth of local SMEs.
Also present at the event were Vincent Pao, Group GM of Concept Group; Representatives of Darussalam Enterprise (DARe), Young Entrepreneurs Association Brunei (YEAB) and Young South East Asian Leaders initiative (YSEALI).
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