A satay stall making brisk business. SMEs now have a number of places to go for funding. Picture: BT/Rudolf Portillo

BRUNEI-MUARA

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are advised to make use of other financing programmes should they not make the cut for the Brunei Economic Development Board’s (BEDB) $2-million grant scheme, the board said.

Applicants looking to obtain start-up grants but fail to qualify for the Local Enterprise Application and Products (LEAP) programme will be recommended to other government agencies that can provide funding, said senior business development manager Nurul Ain Jaafar.

“The LEAP programme is generally for people who find it difficult to get bank loans or find investors, but have a great idea and need the grant scheme to test the idea,” she said. “If an applicant does not fit in these criteria, we can recommend other options available from us or direct them to other agencies that can help.”

The BEDB briefed more than a hundred entrepreneurs on the grant scheme during an SME forum recently to avoid confusion amongst applicants on eligibility criteria, stressing that it will only consider “innovative ideas” that require funding support in order to develop a prototype or proof of concept.

The LEAP programme was established with the objective of supporting the development of new products or applications by SMEs as well as students and researchers in higher learning institutions. Local SMEs with innovative ideas and solid business plans can obtain grants of up to a maximum of B$150,000 per application.

BEDB chief executive officer Vincent Cheong, who emphasised during the forum that the programme is strictly for innovative business ideas, encouraged other SMEs to seek assistance from the BEDB or other agencies for funding support.

“The LEAP programme is not intended to address all the financing needs of the SMEs, but to support and catalyse early stage innovations,” said the CEO during a question-and-answer session.

“If you have a business idea but it is not based on innovation, then we will recommend another scheme for the applicant. We suggest that interested applicants seek for our consultation first before filling up the form, so that we can help identify their needs or requirements and see which schemes suits them,” he added.

Cheong said that in assessing the LEAP programme applicants, the BEDB will be looking at innovative technological content, commercial practicality of the product, scalability and export- potential of the product to be developed as well as the demonstrated commitment of the people behind each application.

“We certainly welcome SMEs from various industries besides ICT to apply for the LEAP programme as long as there is a degree of innovation in there or they’ve discovered a new process or solution, along with a strong business plan with commercial applications in the private and public sector,” Nurul Ain said, urging unsure applicants to approach the BEDB to identify which schemes are best suited for them.

A business microgrant under non-profit organisation Youth Development Resources (YDR) offers up to $2,000 to youths. Managed by BEDB, which also reviews the youths’ business progress, the programme is backed by Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam Bhd, which has committed $300,000 for the project over five years.

The Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources also offers the ‘Enterprise Facilitation Scheme’ and the ‘Micro-Credit Financing Scheme’, which finances high-risk ventures that commercial banks normally shy from.

BEDB is also expected to launch soon a new microcredit scheme to help aspiring entrepreneurs get their business up and running, Nurul Ain said without disclosing further details.

Application for the LEAP programme is currently open and the deadline for submission is October 29.

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