Home-based satay business shows progress after receiving private grant

A HOME-BASED satay business has become the latest micro-business under the Youth Development Resources (YDR) scheme to have shown positive growth, according to the Brunei Economic Development Board.

The enterprise, owned by 21-year-old Norkamilah Hj Hassan (pic), was one of the most recent recipients that has been performing well after just a year since receiving the micro-grant from YDR late last year, according to an assessment made by the YDR committee at the BEDB.

Hoping to revive an old family business and to find alternative sources of income, Norkamilah began producing satay a dish consisting of marinated, skewered and grilled meat, served with sauce at her home in Lambak Kanan last year just after graduating from the Youth Development Centre.

The YDR programme kickstarted Norkamilah's venture, Sate Kamilah, with a $2,000 grant awarded to her in the form of operation equipment such as a skewer grill, a freezer and cooking utensils.

"I wanted to revive my grandmother's satay business. It used to be so popular many years ago, but she stopped running the business after her maid, who assisted her in the business, left," Norkamilah told The Brunei Times.

As a one of the most popular dishes in the country, she strives to stand out from the crowd through the use of her grandmother's recipe, which originated all the way from the Negeri Sembilan state of Malaysia.

According to Norkamilah, her grandmother's unique recipe for the meat and the sauce became a hit among her customers. Selling at 3 sticks for $1, she was able to rake in revenue of nearly $200 in a week, as most of her customers made orders in bulks of 50 units and up to 300 units.

She said that the success of her startup changed her course of life. Prior to obtaining support from the YDR programme, she had difficulty looking for a job and resorted to entrepreneurship.

"There's a thrill in making my own money out of my own efforts. It has kept me going and now I have a better outlook in life," she said.

Norkamilah hopes to find her way out of her home-based operations within the coming months with plans to open up a permanent stall in town and to increase her production of sate.

She currently operates from home during the weekdays while setting up her makeshift stall at the Serasa beach during the weekends.

"Right now I'm saving up to raise capital for my expansion plans. I plan to hire my first staff to help me and set up a proper stall where I can sell more," she said.

She also said that she hopes to one day encourage her entire family to be in the business as it grows, as she hopes to establish her own Satay chain in Brunei in years to come.

"It's a family recipe, and I want to preserve it within the family for generations. I hope to train them with the knowledge and skills the way my grandmother trained me before," she said.

YDR is a non-profit making organisation established by the BEDB with the objective to help Brunei's youth succeed in either starting up their own businesses or becoming skilled members of the workforce.

The programme has seen a positive impact among recipients of its micro-credit grant scheme since it was launched in 2008, where more than 59 young Bruneians are now independently running their own small businesses.The Brunei Times