Armada Properties recently awarded three contracts to MSMEs to provide air-conditioning, cleaning, and retail services as part of their ongoing Local Business Development (LBD) Incubation Programme for the Facilities Management Industry.
Reflection by the Jayys (RJF) and Mohd HMS Enterprise both signed for the first time to provide housekeeping and air-conditioning services respectively to Armada’s estates; while Grocer Local Enterprise received an extension to operate Armada’s convenience store The Korner with locations at their Rimba Estate and the Pantai Jerudong Specialist Centre (PJSC).
The signing ceremony took place on March 19 at Bridex in conjunction with Darussalam Enterprise’s (DARe) MSME Festival.
Armada’s LBD programme was launched in 2020 to cater to the company’s growing needs for facilities management services providers for the properties it manages.
Through training and contract execution, Armada’s programme will also increase the pool of MSMEs capable of providing services to larger companies in this sector.
The LBD programme is in collaboration with DARe, who provide business training and development to the incubatees through its existing initiatives, while Armada provides the business opportunities and technical training.
The collaboration between Armada and DARe is a result of DARe LINKS, a business matching platform and linkage programme that enables large companies to list opportunities for MSMEs to apply for.
MSMEs leveraging Armada’s programme to grow further
The incubatees shared that the business opportunities provided by Armada are enabling smaller locally owned and run businesses to enter competitive and established sectors in facilities management and retail.
For the founder of Grocer Local Enterprise Mudzaffar Rafaea, the business of operating convenience store was always of personal interest, but the proliferation of foreign-owned and operated shops across the country made it challenging for a new local entrant without significant resources or supplier connections.
“I think we all know that convenience stores by foreigners are very popular across Brunei, we see so many of them no matter the area,” he said.
“Even in tougher times as we’ve had with COVID-19, you can see that convenience stores are still one of the essential services that can continue to operate and be profitable regardless (of drastic measures).”
Having successfully operated The Korner in Rimba since 2020, Armada awarded Grocer Local Enterprise with another outlet to operate PJSC the following year. Both locations come with a built-in customer and visitor base, which Mudzaffar credits as key to helping their fledgling enterprise kickstart operations.
“Both locations are very strategic, they guarantee a certain amount of walk-in customers, but it’s up to us to make them return with quality service and products,” he added.
“For a new business like us in this competitive space, this helps set the groundwork for us to build our brand and capabilities. In the future with the support of suppliers, we’re hoping to progress to opening a supermarket.”
For new signees RFJ and Mohd HMS Enterprise, servicing Armada adds to their growing portfolio of serving established organisations.
Mohd HMS Enterprise, known over social media as Aircond Brunei, were the first local company to be awarded under the i-Usahawan programme, earning a contract with Total E&P Borneo B.V. for air-conditioning services.
Since that contract, founder Hj Md Said has doubled his starting team of three, and has expanded their clientele to include government agencies alongside individual households.
With the Armada contract, Md hopes to expand their current focus on servicing split air-conditioning units to include larger central chiller systems used in bigger buildings and factories.
Meanwhile RFJ founder Ak Amirull Azizi Pg Jeffry said the Armada contract provides further validation for their expansion from car washing and detailing into housekeeping and cleaning services.
“We started as a home-based car wash and detailer in 2016, then progressed into our own studio. But when COVID-19 hit and demand for car cleaning dropped we were forced to pivot into other cleaning services,” said Ak Amirrull.
“Alhamdulillah we were able to secure clients for house and office cleaning and sanitation services. Now that the pandemic has subsided, we are continuing to see how we can expand our footprint in this sector, and the Armada contract is a big step for us in that direction.”
Now overseeing two teams totaling 40 local employees, Ak Amirull will provide cleaning before Armada customers move in and out as well as cater to customer on-demand cleaning requests.
RFJ is also in discussion to potentially offer car cleaning services for residents at Armada.
