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Borneo Bulletin Yearbook 2021
PROGRESIF
Following the telco industry transformation,
Progresif Sdn Bhd launched its new mobile
and home broadband packages in early 2020,
with numerous activities planned to build and
maintain momentum.
However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic
in Brunei Darussalam proved to be a challenge,
with Progresif needing to rally together and
come up with a different approach, said Progresif
CEO Hajah Nurul Haniah binti Haji Mohd Jaafar.
With restrictions in place and more people
staying at home, she said that it was an
opportunity for Progresif to accelerate their
digital transformation and improve their
customers’ online experience. Enabling its
customers to purchase and register online proved
to be a great success, said the CEO.
In response to the increasing demand for home
broadband, Progresif launched their One Home
plans enabling customers to choose a monthly
data quota and perform inexpensive data
top-ups anytime they like. Progresif also
introduced Home Unlimited plans with higher
quotas and bandwidths.
With the influx of queries through their call
centres and social media platforms, Progresif
had to expand their team and centres, as well as
re-purpose its people for faster response times.
“It has built resiliency for all of us,” she said,
commending the Progresif team who gave
their all during the hard times to overcome the
challenges.
More than a name
Since its launch in 2015, Progresif has achieved
a number of firsts and milestones in the telco
industry. “We started the brand not just because
we liked that name, but because it stands for
everything we believe in,” said the CEO.
She added that Progresif is always evolving and
transforming, living up to its name. In 2014, they
were the first to introduce incoming free calls
and offer flat call rates to other networks.
In 2017, Progresif launched Brunei’s first
Internet radio station. “We didn’t start this
just to try out the digital and media path, but
because we wanted to be a partner to our
subscribers. We want to support the creative
industry and showcase their talents so we
brought them on board and produced some
albums and featured them in our magazine,”
said Hajah Nurul Haniah.
With this foray into the media space, progress
did not stop there. In August 2020 they launched
Progresif Media, Brunei’s first content streaming
app. “It was a bold, but logical extension to
Progresif Media,” the CEO said.
“We saw the need for a platform where local
creators could showcase their work alongside
the best regional and Hollywood content, and
receive revenue from it too.” Hajah Nurul Haniah
also expressed the hope that by spearheading
the growth of a digital media and creative
industry, Progresif could help to lessen the
burden of youth unemployment.
Another one of their major milestones was the
launch of Progresif Pay in 2018 in partnership
with Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam with over
28,000 users to date. The CEO said they are
looking at evolving the app this year, on top
of previous initiatives launched for cashless
campuses with higher education institutions.
In addition to its innovative products and
services, Progresif has also been recognised for
its strong brand. In 2016 and 2018, Progresif won
an award for its brand campaign. “This to me is
quite an accomplishment and recognition of the
work of the team we built,” said the CEO.