| Fizah HAB |
STARTUP Weekend Brunei: Women Edition, held at the iCentre, Anggerek Desa Technology Park (ADTP) in Berakas, officially came to a close yesterday after three days of intensive business idea pitching by five teams – Creativate, InTurn, The Creative Core BN (TCCBN), EICO Enterprise and Fundnel – all incubatees of the park’s iCentre and Knowledge Hub (KHub).
Winning the final pitch and the chance to represent Brunei Darussalam at Startup Weekend Asia Pacific (APAC) in Bali, Indonesia later in October this year was the team that conceived REACT, an online gateway aimed at providing connection for social enterprises, communities and like-minded partners.
Coming in second and third place were the teams which came up with the event-planning app BOOKSYS and Feat.in, an online platform connecting local SMEs to consumers.
The idea for the KalorieKu watch, which is supposed to monitor calories consumed, meanwhile, won an honourable mention.
The teams’ final pitches were judged based on their business models, customer validation, execution and design.
The judging panel comprised In Country Value Manager at Brunei Shell Petroleum Co Sdn Bhd (BSP) Hajah Rosita Hassan, Executive Director at Arkitek Ibrahim Lisa binti Dato Paduka Haji Ibrahim; and Head of Innovation at Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) Yazid Azahari.
The top three teams received prizes sponsored by BSP, Tyne Solutions and the Young Entrepreneurs Association Brunei (YEAB).
The three-day workshop also featured a panel discussion where a number of invited speakers shared their experiences and thoughts in running a business.
Partners and sponsors of Startup Weekend Brunei: Women Edition included Progresif Cellular (Strategic Partner), DARe (Darussalam Enterprise) (Ecosystem Partner), BSP (Sponsor), Tyne Solutions, YEAB, YSEALI Women’s Leadership Academy (WLA) (Community Partner) and Wafa Hotel and Apartment (Accommodation Partner).
Further support was from Eco Bumi Arkitek (EBA), Q-Hanz Cafe, Royal Brunei Catering (RBC), Ah Mit’s Delicacy Cafe, Tuppylove @ The Loft and Little Gourmet.
Leading the event were Charlotte Lim from TCCBN (Lead Organiser), Chai Roslin from InTurn, and the team from Creativate (Project Manager).