| Danial Norjidi |
DISCIPLINE, along with financial management and an understanding of cash flow, are among the things that should be considered primary requirements for entrepreneurs to grow and sustain their businesses.
Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam’s (BIBD) Deputy Head of Retail Banking, Hajah Nurul Akmar binti Haji Mohd Jaafar, highlighted these points in an interview yesterday, on the sidelines of the DARe (Darussalam Enterprise) Industry Business Academy’s module on ‘Getting Financing’, at the iCentre.
Speaking on the challenges that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) face in getting financing, she said, “It is always about management of the finances, understanding the cash flow, and also the preparation of the accounts.
“This seems to be a secondary requirement for practitioners these days, but to us as bankers, these are primary requirements for you to really know and understand on how to grow and sustain your business”.
She added that with DARe now conducting “this initiative holistically, and the awareness through social and print media, it has become a conscious effort by everyone, from stakeholders and even entrepreneurs themselves, that they need to be disciplined in managing their business.”
Hajah Nurul Akmar binti Haji Mohd Jaafar. – AZROL AZMI
Hajah Nurul Akmar also stressed that one of the key requirements is knowing the basics, specifically, “the basics of finances, the basics of understanding services and also how to expand.
“Some people think they can just quit their job and jump into a business without a plan,” she said. “There is always the basic thing of having a business plan.”
She was quick to point out, however, that a business plan is not the only thing that will develop one’s business.
“There are also advisories, having a mentor-mentee kind of approach, and this is provided by DARe under one roof, which to me is the beauty of the initiative that is done by DARe,” she said, in reference to the Business Support Centre.“Everything is under one roof, from labour to finances, to advisories.
“So the biggest takeaway to me is that hopefully they understand the bank has a certain discipline when providing facilities or services to businesses and entrepreneurs. Discipline needs to be understood and really appreciated, because we are there to help them to grow and not just to penalise them. It’s about disciplining and also to make sure we grow with them.”
Offering some words of advice for local companies, she said, “To me, personally, to start up a business you don’t just think of financing.
“Some people might think without money they can’t start a business, but sometimes the money is normally for overheads and whatnot. So, for example, online vendors are doing business from home. So it’s just a matter of inventory management and making sure you understand your credit grace period. If you can handle all those and make sure that your debtors and creditors match, you won’t have to have a lot of working capital at hand.
“That certain mindset that without money you can’t do a business is not a mindset that should be present at first, when you want to set up a business.”
This, she affirmed, is because if you have a good business idea and the discipline, the money will come. “The discipline is important,” she said.
She confirmed that BIBD is able and willing to help businesses get started, with a number of facilities and schemes in place to help SMEs.
On how people can access BIBD’s business advisory services in particular, she said, “Our corporate banking division, and also our business banking unit, has a presence in our main branch and also the Belait branch.
“However we are also accessible through the contact centre. A dedicated line is given to the corporate and business banking unit, so if anyone wants to make an appointment they can just call the contact centre.
“Most of the advisory will be relating to the do’s and don’ts, and those kinds of things that we have seen in the past which caused failures or stumbling blocks to certain entrepreneurs.
“In life itself there are always stumbling blocks, but with business, the industries are always the same: there’s commercial, retail, oil and gas and so on,” she said. “We have expertise in all industries, so we hope to share the experiences, and the new businesses that come in and get an advisory from us will be able to reap those experiences without having to go through them.”
On the subject of mindset and discipline among local entrepreneurs, she said, “Ten years ago, yes, the mindset was still the same. But lately, I’ve seen that it has opened up, and it has really embarked on a progression of wanting to do things right, so to me that is progress in itself. Given DARe’s focus to help entrepreneurs, this is really complementary and timely.”
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