The Brunei Innovation Lab is a dynamic hub for technopreneurs, tackling technology challenges with groundbreaking solutions. The BIL Innovation Challenges, a crucial 4-week hackathon, invited individuals, teams, and companies to address specific industry issues in Brunei Darussalam. In August 2023, over 50 Bruneian youth formed 13 startups to tackle 27 industry concerns posed by seven opportunity sponsors (Biz Brunei, 2023).

Our journey began with nervous excitement. Among the 27 diverse challenge statements, ranging from environmental conservation to oil and gas, we chose a particularly daunting one: developing a data visualization solution.

Challenge Statement: “How to report multiple data sources into one dashboard reporting?”

Faced with the choice of sticking to our current skills or pushing our boundaries, we opted for the latter—a decision that tested our team’s resilience and strained our partnership relationships.

Stressful Workshop

The first week was tough. We faced complex technical requirements and frequent setbacks, which made us question our decision to join. Learning new technologies while building a viable prototype felt like navigating an incomplete manual. However, BIL’s support through workshops, mentorship, and insights from local and international industry experts proved invaluable. Despite our limited formal training, we gained essential knowledge in product development, UI/UX design, and coding fundamentals.

Through perseverance, sleepless nights, and numerous iterations, we developed an app for instant KPI visualization, integrating disparate databases that typically don’t communicate into a centralized data visualization dashboard. This provided easy and fast reporting.

Video of the Prototype

We called it ebDash. It is designed to simplify and expedite your understanding of data prowess. This feasible prototype validated our efforts and helped us overcome technical challenges that initially seemed insurmountable.

After the grueling 4-week hackathon, on October 22, the event concluded with the announcement of winners who would advance to the Innovate Accelerator program—a prestigious opportunity for further growth. And fortunately…

EverBetter Innovation Secured 2nd Place!

Securing second place was a significant achievement, validating our hard work and innovative approach and marking the start of a new chapter in our journey.

“From the challenge, we gained a crucial understanding of the technical requirements, enabling us to implement feasible solutions that can help us grow.” – Zhoriif

This accomplishment is not just about awards; it’s a step toward continued growth. Thankful appreciation to Our team—Saifullah, Zul, and Zhoriif—brought diverse perspectives and a shared vision to this challenge. This collaboration demonstrated the power of teamwork, diverse ideas, and tawakal to Allah.

With this milestone behind us, EverBetter Innovation remains committed to driving innovation and mutual growth. Follow our journey, explore collaboration opportunities, and stay connected for future updates. Together, let’s achieve remarkable success together.