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Good practice Imported

iCentre — Brunei's First ICT Business Incubator at Anggerek Desa Technology Park

Brunei · Bandar Seri Begawan · See the Brunei profile · See the Bandar Seri Begawan profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 74% 57/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Brunei's first ICT business incubator, run by the Economic Development Board (now Darussalam Enterprise) inside the government-built Anggerek Desa Technology Park, has incubated 40+ startups since 2007 and graduated 30 firms — though only 2 went on to raise venture capital, illus

40+ companies
Startups incubated (2007–~2015)
30 companies
Startups graduated (2007–~2015)
2 companies
Graduates securing venture-capital funding (by ~2015)
18.3 %
Brunei SMEs with bank financing (2011)
76 %
Brunei SMEs with no financing at all (2011)

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB), now under Darussalam Enterprise (DARe)
Period
2001-present (incubator opened 2007)
Keywords
ICT incubation, startup support, venture capital

Context

The Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) was established in 2001 to diversify the oil-dependent economy. It built a 17-hectare Anggerek Desa Technology Park in Bandar Seri Begawan comprising iCentre, a Knowledge Hub R&D building (opened 2009, US$4.8 million) and a Design & Technology Building (completed 2014, US$19 million).

Objectives

iCentre was set up to incubate local ICT companies and help them access mentoring, growth capital and export-oriented development support.

Activities

iCentre admitted its first cohort of 9 local ICT companies in 2007 and for years operated in partnership with KR Consulting's Star Incubator, a unit of Singapore's National University of Singapore. It offered subsidised office space for up to 16 resident and 5 virtual companies, mentoring, and access to Accel-X, a government-seeded US$5 million venture-capital fund, plus the LEAP grant scheme (up to B$150,000 per award) for firms and researchers developing export-promising prototypes. Its IGNITE Entrepreneurship Challenge (2012–2016) awarded up to B$54,000 in prizes.

Results

By around 2015, iCentre had incubated more than 40 startups and graduated 30, of which 2 (Infindo and Mesixty) went on to secure venture-capital funding. An independent ASEAN/JODC survey (2011) found only 18.3% of Brunei SMEs had bank financing and 76% had none at all, underlining the structural headwinds facing iCentre's cohort.

Conclusions

A 2018 academic case study concluded incubation 'can work' in Brunei only with sustained global-local network management and long-term government commitment — success is conditional, not guaranteed. iCentre continues to operate today under Darussalam Enterprise (DARe), Brunei's national MSME agency established in 2016.

Implementation
Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M) — Built within a 17-hectare technology park that included a Knowledge Hub R&D building (US$4.8M, 2009) and Design & Technology Building (US$19M, 2014); seeded with a US$5M Accel-X venture-capital fund and a LEAP grant scheme of up to B$150,000 per award.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — BEDB established 2001; iCentre opened 2007 and continues operating today (18+ years) under Darussalam Enterprise.
Staffing & skills
Established and run by the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB), now Darussalam Enterprise (DARe), Operated for years in partnership with KR Consulting's Star Incubator, a unit of the National University of Singapore

Conditions for success

  • Subsidised office space (up to 16 resident and 5 virtual companies), mentoring, and access to seed/growth capital (Accel-X VC fund, LEAP grant scheme) alongside incubation
  • A 2018 academic case study found incubation 'can work' only with sustained global-local network management and long-term government commitment

Common failure modes

  • Only 2 of 30 graduated companies (about 7%) went on to secure venture-capital funding, illustrating a weak pipeline to growth capital
  • Structural headwinds: an independent 2011 ASEAN/JODC survey found only 18.3% of Brunei SMEs had any bank financing and 76% had none at all
  • Success is explicitly conditional on sustained commitment, not guaranteed, per the 2018 case study

Where it fits

Governance type
state economic development board / national agency
Scale
national (single flagship site)
Income level
high income

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

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Data sources

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