The first Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) hosted a graduation ceremony on
Thursday, 9 June at the VIP Hall located at Rizqun International Hotel, for candidate who
have successfully completed the AWE programme and to announce the top three women
owned businesses that will each receive USD3,000 in seed funding. This event also
marks the end of the six-month training programme funded by the Embassy of the United
States of America in Brunei Darussalam and facilitated by Darussalam Enterprise
(DARe).
In attendance were the Minister at The Prime Minister’s Office, Minister of Finance and
Economy II and Chairman of DARe, Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd
Amin Liew Abdullah; The U.S Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam, Her Excellency Caryn
McClelland; Acting CEO of Darussalam Enterprise (DARe), Mr Daniel Leong.
A group photo of AWE participants with the Minister at The Prime Minister’s Office, Minister of Finance and
Economy II and Chairman of DARe, Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew Abdullah; The U.S
Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam, Her Excellency Caryn McClelland; Acting CEO of Darussalam Enterprise (DARe),
Mr Daniel Leong
In her welcoming remarks, Ambassador McClelland said, “The Academy for Women
Entrepreneurs, also known as AWE, was established by the U.S. State Department and
currently operates in eighty countries worldwide. It is designed to empower women to
fulfill their economic potential and, in doing so, create conditions for increased stability,
security and prosperity for all. The program gives enterprising women the knowledge,
network and access they need to launch and grow successful businesses.
Acting CEO of DARe, Daniel Leong also shared a few words and expressed, “the AWE has
served to be a great opportunity for our women entrepreneurs in taking the first steps of
their entrepreneurial journey.” He added on to say that, “Upon completion of the AWE
programme, our women entrepreneurs can continue to tap into DARe’s range of MSME
development support that offers access to business information, training, financing,
space, markets and promotion to take their business to the next level. We at DARe will
continuously work with stakeholders such as the US embassy to customise the delivery
of our MSME development programme to aspiring entrepreneurs including those from
the respective target groups such as women, youths and others in our efforts to diversify
Brunei Darussalam’s economy”
To determine the top three businesses, a total of twelve businesses pitched to a panel of
judges who comprised of DARe Board Member, Nik Hafimi Abdul Hadii; U.S. Embassy
Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Mr Jeff Barrus; Founder of Kunyit 7 Lodge, Dk Kemariah
Pengiran Haji Duraman; Manager at DARe’s Business Development and Support, Ilie
Dato Haji Abd Rahman; and Financing Specialist at DARe’s Enterprise Programme, Jason
Tse Tow. The pitching session was held at the Main Auditorium of the Design &
Technology Building on Friday, 20 May 2022.
The top three businesses that were awarded USD3,000 in funding were:
- Lane Microbakery & Coffee – A unique food & beverage (F&B) company
specialising in French pastries & bread.
- My Darling Baby – A children-focused company specialising in selling educational
Montessori play tools.
- Thea Seera Enterprise – Develops sustainable ready-to-wear fashion
The AWE is a worldwide initiative of the U.S. Department of State.
“This program is a perfect fit for our Embassy because it combines two of our key goals:
empowering women and assisting Brunei in its economic diversification efforts through
entrepreneurism,” said Ambassador McClelland
The AWE is a worldwide initiative of the U.S. Department of State.
“This program is a perfect fit for our Embassy because it combines two of our key goals:
empowering women and assisting Brunei in its economic diversification efforts through
entrepreneurism,” said Ambassador McClelland
DreamBuilder was designed by Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global
Management and mining company Freeport-McMoRan to guide aspiring entrepreneurs
step-by-step in starting and growing their businesses through interactive and practical
content that includes tools and templates.
AWE is open to Brunei-based women entrepreneurs between 18 to 40-years-old who are
in the early stages of starting and running a business and have limited business
background or training.
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About DARe:
DARe was established in February 2016 to build enterprises into dynamic and resilient
drivers of economic growth. Bridging the public and private sectors, DARe enables
enterprise growth through a pro-business ecosystem with necessary infrastructure,
reliable support and an effective development programme