Youth Opportunities Unlocked at BEDB's YOU2025 Event
- BEDB
- Aug 26
- 5 min read
Bandar Seri Begawan, 15 August 2025 - The Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) successfully hosted the first edition of Youth Opportunities Unlocked 2025 (YOU2025), on Thursday, 14 August 2025 at the Pro Chancellor Arts Centre, Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD). This year’s programme featured TEDx Anggerek Desa Youth, Insights Sharing Session on Digital Media and a pilot of Live Selling Marketplace.
Organised in conjunction with the 20th National Youth Day and 37th Convocation of UBD, ‘The Next Day’, the event brought together 260 attendees comprising of aspiring and established youth entrepreneurs, industry experts, key stakeholders, and relevant agencies for a full day of inspiring talks, knowledge sharing, and business networking. The strong turnout reflected the growing momentum of youth entrepreneurship in Brunei. To show UBD’s support for youth-led initiatives Vice Chancellor of UBD, Dr Hazri Haji Kifle, also attended the event as well as visited the youth-led brands that were selling live on TikTok.
In his opening address, Acting Chief Executive Officer of BEDB, Daniel Leong urged Brunei’s youth to play an active role in the nation’s economic diversification.
“YOU2025 is about more than just inspiration — it’s about action. We want our youth to leave with new ideas, new friends, and maybe even new opportunities,” said Leong.
“At BEDB, we want to help you take your ideas further — whether that’s through programmes like Startup673, our support hubs at iCentre and Kontena Park, or simply by connecting with our team at Anggerek Desa, who are always ready to listen and share advice.”
He acknowledged the support of Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD), Progresif Sdn Bhd, Beep Digital Solutions Sdn Bhd, and Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) for their support that reflects a shared commitment to empowering Brunei’s youth.
The morning session which featured TEDx Anggerek Desa Youth, is a platform for youth entrepreneurs to share personal and impactful ideas while promoting the youth within a globally recognised TEDx format. The morning session featured the following speakers:
Founder & CEO, New Wave Films, Syafi Halim – Be Comfortable with Failing
Multi-hyphenate Creative, Harry Knit, Bash Harry – Chasing Joy & Misadventures
Founder, Heritage Bakwa, Rayyan Sufian – Start Early, Compound Long: Age Doesn’t Matter, Proof Does
Founder, Khairani’s Closet, Khairani Ashry – When You’re Lost, Pursue Yourself
The afternoon session featured other successful entrepreneurs who shared tips and advice on how they have achieved their success and in turn how others can do the same, featured the following during the afternoon session:
Managing Director, MOV Corp & GMart, George Lim – Leveraging New Social Platforms
Brunei Food Diary, Amal Hibriyah – Helping Brunei F&B Reach Wider Audiences
Panel Discussion with speakers, moderated by Reuben Chin, Senior Manager, BEDB
These talks will be uploaded online on TEDx Talks YouTube as well as BizBrunei channels in the coming weeks, allowing their ideas to inspire and reach wider audiences beyond the event.
Running alongside the sessions was the Live Selling Marketplace from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, blending real-time TikTok live commerce with an in-person retail environment. This initiative provided youth-led brands with a platform to test new sales channels and explore market reach and achieved a total of up to 90 items sold and total sales of over BND2,000 across 7 vendors.
Youth-led brands that participated shared that the experience gave them valuable exposure to new customers, and tested their ability to handle live interactions. Several entrepreneurs said the initiative motivated them to explore live selling more seriously as a future sales channel.
The event closed with a Networking Session, fostering new connections among participants, speakers, and industry representatives, and reinforcing BEDB’s mission to strengthen Brunei’s youth entrepreneurship ecosystem.
BEDB emphasised that YOU is not a one-off initiative but the beginning of an ongoing platform for youth entrepreneurship. By building on the success of this year’s event, BEDB plans to expand YOU into a recurring programme that continues to empower youth, foster innovation, and strengthen Brunei’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. Youth entrepreneurs who want to know more about these events and be a part of future activities can reach out to community.management@bedb.gov.bn or visit www.bedb.gov.bn and check out the ‘Upcoming events’ section on what is happening next.
About TEDx, x = independently organized event
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events areself-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)
About TED
TED is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to discovering, debating and spreading ideas that spark conversation, deepen understanding and drive meaningful change. Our organization is devoted to curiosity, reason, wonder and the pursuit of knowledge — without an agenda. We welcome people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world and connection with others, and we invite everyone to engage with ideas and activate them in your community.
TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, but today it spans a multitude of worldwide communities and initiatives exploring everything from science and business to education, arts and global issues. In addition to the TED Talks curated from our annual conferences and published on TED.com, we produce original podcasts, short video series, animated educational lessons (TED-Ed) and TV programs that are translated into more than 100 languages and distributed via partnerships around the world. Each year, thousands of independently run TEDx events bring people together to share ideas and bridge divides in communities on every continent. Through the Audacious Project, TED has helped catalyze more than $3 billion in funding for projects that seek to make the world more beautiful, sustainable and just. In 2020, TED launched Countdown, an initiative to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis and mobilize a movement for a net-zero future, and in 2023 TED launched TED Democracy to spark a new kind of conversation focused on realistic pathways towards a more vibrant and equitable future. View a full list of TED’s many programs and initiatives.
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About YOU2025
YOU2025 is an initiative led by BEDB that drives a series of youth entrepreneurship programmes across various themes and activities that aims to bring together youth entrepreneurs across the country while forging stronger partnerships with relevant stakeholders to ensure greater alignment, impact and sustainability in the youth entrepreneurship ecosystem.
About Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB):
The Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) envisions a resilient and diversified economy and is committed to catalyzing sustainable growth by attracting and facilitating impactful investments that create jobs and generate opportunities for local enterprises. BEDB also provides effective support and resources to enterprises of all sizes to spur innovation and growth and develops fit-for-purpose industrial infrastructure to enable enterprises to thrive in a conducive environment.
