Opening Remark
by
Yang Mulia Ibu Adiwoso, the Executive Director of
NAM CSSTC,
Distinguished participants and experts from NAM
member countries,
Representatives from our local agencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Assalamualaikum
Warahmatullah Hiwabarakatuh and Good Morning to everyone.
It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to this
Meeting of Experts and Decision Makers of NAM Member Countries on “Increasing
Prospects for Rapid and Sustainable Socio-Economic Development through Business
Incubators and Entrepreneurship”.
In particular, I would like to welcome our foreign
delegates, many of whom I believe, is your first time to step on our beautiful
and peaceful land of Brunei Darussalam. I hope that you will enjoy our hospitality.
I would also like to extend my appreciation to the
NAM CSSTC for co-organising this important meeting. It provides us with a venue
to share information, exchange experience and learn from each other on our
mutual efforts in promoting the socio-economic development of our respective
nations. This meeting, in particular, will allow us to deliberate on the
business incubators and entrepreneurship, as mechanisms in such endeavour.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We acknowledge the important role and contribution
of SMEs in the socio-economic development of any nation. They are recognised as
the engine of growth and the basis of competitiveness for a rapid and
sustainable economy. They make up an overwhelming proportion of our national
production and provide the largest employment opportunities for our
populations. They have become the main focus in the contemporary development
policy, especially in the era of globalisation.
In Brunei Darussalam, the growth of SMEs is crucial
in our economic development objective. Various policies and support programs
have been established, and implemented, in our effort to develop our SMEs.
These include business incubators as well as various entrepreneurship programs.
We see that these two mechanisms are important in the creation of new
enterprises and their opportunities for survival as well as in sustaining the
competitiveness of our existing business establishments.
But the fact remains that SMEs are facing various
challenges to survive, let alone, to grow. The number of survival of the new
start-ups, in both industrialised and developing countries alike, continues to
be low. Limited access to resources is persistently cited as barriers to SMEs
development.
This include among others, financing,
infrastructure, market, information as well as technology. Equally important is
the entrepreneurial skills that can be enhanced through various human capacity
building initiatives for SMEs.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
While, business incubators and entrepreneurship
have always form part of the SME development policy, there prevails an urgent
need for effective and efficient approaches to both mechanisms.
I am confident that, this Meeting will be able to
showcase some best practices that can contribute to the successful formulation
of such approaches. I am happy to note the presence of experts among us that
will assist in our discussions.
I hope that we all will be able to ‘adopt and
adapt’ those approaches to our own environment. That is to say, we will be able
to substantially address the particular needs of our respective SMEs and thus
provide them, especially the newly created SMEs, with all the necessary resources
to improve their chances for survival and success.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I look forward to interesting and successful deliberations.
And once again, I wish to welcome you all and hope
that you have a pleasant stay in Brunei Darussalam.
Thank you
Wabillahi
Taufiq Walhidayah, Wassalamualaikum Warahmatullah Hi Wabarakatuh