Platform to help Brunei startups raise funds in pipeline

In an interview with local media, Kirpal Singh Sidhu, chief executive of Adlerblick Pte Ltd, said they had been invited by DARE to look at start-ups in Brunei with the objective of helping them raise funding.
“It is still in its infancy stage and we are talking [to relevant stakeholders] to understand the dynamics, what level they are at,” Sidhu said.
“The companies have just come up with their ideas so there is still a long way before you can talk about things like IPO [initial public offering].”
Sidhu said they are currently taking ideas and “developing those ideas so that they can become marketable.
“The journey from where they are now to where they raise funds is a long one. With proper guidance and mentorship, they would be more polished and in a better position to do so.”
Ash Singh, also with Adlerblick, said that he and Sidhu are both entrepreneurs.
“We have gone through the journey of building and selling companies, and we have done it individually,” he said, adding that they had done work in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Indonesia, India, Thailand and Australia, among other countries.
Singh said they had been developing a curriculum at one of the top business schools in the world.
“The curriculum was based on what challenges start-up founders have and what are some of the concerns venture capitalists have when they are assessing something for investment.”
He said the programme had been leveraged on by 3,000 to 4,000 students, and of those who had been incorporated (into companies), half of them go on to raise some form of funding, either a grant, angel investment or venture capitalists (VC).
“We spent a lot of time coaching these people as well, outside the curriculum. We feel this is the right time to bring our talents here [to Brunei] and see if what had worked in other countries, would work here, to help companies here export their ideas and services.”
The exact details on the platform and curriculum are still being worked on, said Singh, expecting an announcement in the near future.
“It will be a very innovative and localised approach,” he added.
Sidhu said that he believed Brunei has some very good talent, having spent some time teaching at the Civil Service Institute.
“The young Bruneians, they are talented and speak well but they do not necessarily know what the [investor] might be looking for.
“They may not have that kind of experience yet, so that is what we are here for. To help sharpen them up a bit, give them an understanding of what a VC might be looking for and how to present their ideas and focus on a two-minute pitch rather than rambling on for an |hour and losing everyone,” he said.