| James Kon |
FIVE businesswomen under the Women’s Business Council (WBC) are set to collect the prestigious Asean Women’s Entrepreneur Award at the Asean Women’s Business Conference 2017, in Manila.
A 13-strong member delegation, including the award recipients, led by Datin Paduka Hajah Rokiah binti Haji Zakiah, the President of the WBC of Brunei Darussalam, departed yesterday to attend the awards ceremony and four-day conference, which begins today.
The delegation also includes Nellie binti Dato Paduka Haji Sunny, the Secretary- General of the WBC.
The recipients of the outstanding Asean Women’s Entrepreneur Award are Dayangku Hamidah binti Pengiran Haji Kahar, the Director of D’Valley Food Industry and Packaging Company; Fatimah binti Salleh, the Managing Director of Syarikat Melabau Indah Makmur; Kamariah binti Hasbullah, the Managing Director of HKH Fast Food and Takeaway; Mariah binti Johari, the Manager of Triple Sevenz Enterprise; and Rokiah Lubin, the Managing Director of ISKA VZ Textile.
In an interview with the Bulletin, Datin Paduka Hajah Rokiah highlighted the increasing role of women in the local economy through their business ventures in various industries.
“We are delighted that we have five women who will be receiving the awards in the Philippines this year, because they really worked hard to get the recognition,” she said. “This is not the first time that Brunei has received such an award.”
Regarding the conference, Datin Paduka Hajah Rokiah said, “We will be holding discussions focused on three main sub-themes – ‘Women Innovators in Asean’, ‘Women in Trade and Inclusive Business’, and ‘Women and Human Capital Development’ – to commemorate the 50th founding anniversary of Asean.
“This is the first time that Asean has a public-private dialogue event, highlighting women’s vital participation in the region’s economic activities.”
Datin Paduka Hajah Rokiah also said that Bruneian products will be featured at the GREAT Women Trade showcase, at the conference.
Meanwhile, Kamariah, the Managing Director of HKH Fast Food and Takeaway, responsible for establishing the well-known local MOKAM brand of local biscuits, cakes and chips, said, “This is an honour for my company and for Brunei, to receive an award at the Asean Women’s Business Conference 2017.”
As a cottage-based business, MOKAM has grown in production and is currently able to produce 10kg worth of items, with the help of machinery.
During the interview, Kamariah expressed her gratitude to the Brunei Government, the Asean-Japan Centre, Asean-Korea Centre and the Agriculture and Agrifood Department for their support.
Moreover, with a confirmed partici-pation at the China-Asean Expo (CAEXPO) 2017 in mid-September in Naning, China, she hopes to further expand her business into the Chinese market.
The post 5 from Brunei to receive Asean Women’s Entrepreneur Award appeared first on Borneo Bulletin Online.