My Southeast Asia Ventures: How I started a health tech firm in Brunei and became friends with ministers there

Southeast Asia might not be many young Singaporeans’ first choice as a destination for work or study, but some have taken a leap of faith and ventured into the region. TODAY’s Voices section is publishing first-hand accounts of those who have spent time in Singapore’s closest neighbours for a variety of meaningful pursuits.

In this instalment, Mr Chua Ming Jie, 35, describes his love affair with Brunei, where he started a health technology firm in 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic. The country’s small and digitally literate population means it is an ideal place to incubate healthcare solutions, he writes. 

I first went to Brunei Darussalam about three years ago. I had no idea what to expect, but was immediately blown away by the warmth of the people and the natural beauty of the abundant hiking trails and parks. I have been back many times since.

My love affair with Brunei started around the time that Covid-19 landed on the country’s shores in March 2020. 

I was then working with Hong Kong-listed healthcare technology company Yidu Tech to help the Brunei government manage the pandemic. 

Building on the initial success, I founded EVYD Technology, a Southeast Asia-based health technology company, with the support of some investors the following month.

Today, we continue to build on that relationship and are supporting the country’s Ministry of Health on their digital transformation across multiple platforms. 

For example, we co-developed BruHealth as a pandemic management app, but are evolving it into an all-in-one app which allows Bruneians to access their personal health records, make appointments for consultations, and participate in personalised disease management plans, among other services.

Bruneians are a warm, friendly people and are culturally quite close to Singaporeans. Like us, they love food — in fact, a meeting isn’t considered one if food isn’t provided!

Like any new place, it also took me some time to adapt and get to know the people. Email was my primary means of communication, but I often wondered why it took longer to get responses.

I soon learnt that many Bruneians prefer face-to-face meetings for more personal interactions and WhatsApp to email for communications, and adjusted my style accordingly. 

Once we could resume meetings in-person after the pandemic-induced measures, I switched to those.

I realised that it is important to spend time in person to cultivate relationships and for that personal touch, which also helps get things done faster. As such, I spend a few months in Brunei every year.

With all this personal face time, I am happy that I have built up relationships with many people in Brunei — not just from within the Health Ministry, but also other ministries and local companies.

I have become friends with some ministers as well. 

What strikes me is how friendly and accessible they are. In fact, 10 ministers turned up for the launch of “BN on the Move” last August, a national campaign that we worked on with the Health Ministry to get Bruneians out and about and fitter after the pandemic.

I am also honoured to have been invited by some government leaders for both formal and informal gatherings.

Outside of work, I enjoy hiking, eating the local food and hanging out with my colleagues there.

Brunei has a very educated population, and a strong desire to transform for the better. Coupled with strong and visionary leadership, the country has fully embraced technology, especially in healthcare.

This enables the government to provide a high standard of care to its people. And with a small and digitally literate population, Brunei is an ideal partner to incubate innovative healthcare solutions before rolling them out at scale to other countries.

We continue to work with the country to help develop its healthcare ecosystem by fostering greater collaboration with other countries in the region, including Singapore.

In addition to being idyllic, all these ingredients have helped Brunei become a leader in digital public health. I always look forward to going there — not least to deepen my engagement with my counterparts there.

I encourage more Singaporeans to join me in travelling to this undiscovered jewel of Southeast Asia, the Abode of Peace — which Darussalam means in Malay.

For those who want to work there, my advice to them is to be open to learn as Brunei is a leader in many areas, and to spend time getting to know the people. 

And of course to relish the wonderful food and nature the country has to offer. Enjoy the ride!

ABOUT THE WRITER:

Mr Chua Ming Jie, 35, is chief executive of EVYD Technology, a Southeast Asia-based healthcare technology firm. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the National University of Singapore, majoring in Finance and Financial Mathematics.

If you have an experience to share or know someone who wishes to contribute to this series, write to voices [at] mediacorp.com.sg with your full name, address and phone number.